


Missing

by Jedi9



Series: The Ryder's Journey trilogy [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Oral Sex, Sequel, Smut, Unofficial Sequel, Vaginal Fingering, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2018-12-14 05:44:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11776689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jedi9/pseuds/Jedi9
Summary: After being held captive by the kett for months, Ryder and her crew embark on one more adventure to save the Andromeda Initiative from total annihilation. What will the Pathfinder and her loyal team discover? What danger lurks in the darkest corners of the Heleus cluster? Will this be the end of Ryder's journey in Andromeda?This is a non-official sequel to Mass Effect Andromeda.





	1. Lost

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone. I'm kind of obsessed with this ship right now, I really love Sara and Peebee and the chemistry they have. I've decided to make their relationship go through a hard pass, to put their love for each other to the test. I hope you enjoy the first chapter. More will come pretty soon.
> 
> Quick disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect and its characters.

Peebee's personal log; entry number one

_Ok, where to start with this? Gosh, it's so hard, I don't think I can do this! Ok, be strong Peebee, do it for her._

_It has been a few months since Ryder, me and the rest of the crew had taken Meridian and activated the rest of the vaults scattered across Andromeda. We made it more livable, less hostile than it was when we first arrived months ago. It already feels like a long time ago. An eternity seemed to have passed since I've first met my true love, Sara Ryder, back on Eos._

_We had received intel that the quarian ark might have been seen somewhere in the Nol system, so we rushed there to investigate. The kett knew that we were looking for them and had faked a distress signal to attract the ship in the asteroid belt._

_We should have seen it coming, the signal was too good to be true and the lack of kett presence should have shown us that it was a trap. It was screaming ambush at us, a big blatant sign and we were too blind to see it._

_They had strategically placed electro mines on the belt, motion sensors picked our approach and unleashed hell upon the ship. It had fried all electronics inside, the bridge had gone dark except for the dim illumination of Nol's sun._

_It was calm for a short moment, but to me, it felt like hours really. Ryder's respiration was erratic, she was scared and that only made me more worried about what was unfolding around us. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I thought it would burst out of it, tearing my skin as it flies away._

_Sara's hand had reached for mine, seeking its warmth, trying to find something familiar to hide into. But we both knew that we couldn't avoid the inevitable. Eventually, the kett blasted their way into the ship, the clanging of their guns echoing in the Tempest's deserted rooms._

_At first, we thought they were looking for us, but when they asked for Ryder and only Ryder, my heart sank in despair. Sara had refused to mount a defensive, though it didn't stop Liam from arguing or Cora from expressing her bewilderment. Tears appeared in my eyes, blurring my vision._

_I knew, oh that I knew why my love, my everything refused to fight. She didn't want her crew, her family to get hurt for her, even if it meant at the expense of her life._

_When I felt her hand drift away from mine, her warm fingers untangling away from the back of my hand, I knew I had to do something._

_''Sara! You can't!'' I should have said more but couldn't, my voice broke and I began sobbing in the darkness that engulfed us._

_''Peebee, I have to, I don't want them to hurt you, I must go if it means you will all live to fight another day, no matter how great the cost'' she had sounded so confident but I heard her voice shake, her eyes locking on mines, saying what words couldn't._

_''I can't do this without you!'' I answered, grasping her arms tightly in my grip, unwilling to let her go._

_She caressed my cheeks, sweeping hot tears away from them, looking at me with such unseen intensity stare._

_I knew, from that moment, I couldn't do or say anything to stop her, she was going to do this for us, for me. But I didn't want her to, even now, as I write these words, I still regret my decision to let her go. Why didn't I stop her? Poc, do you see any tissues here? It's so hard, but I have to do this!_

_Everyone here, they all say that I should accept the fact that Ryder might be dead, that I should accept that for my mental health, but I can't and I won't. I will find her, screw all the others, if they want to help, they can do so by getting out of my way. Hang in there Ryder, stay strong, I'm coming for you._

End of log

* * *

The Tempest was floating around Aya, peacefully careening among the stars, engines shining with their usual blue. It was a wonderful ship, Peebee was always amazed by its nice shapes, by the familiar sounds that the ship made as it flew around space. It never failed to bring a smile on her face. But not today.

Today was Ryder's birthday, one of the most,-no, the most important celebration that mattered to Peebee. She was looking at a photograph of her lover, her brown hair flying around in the wind, a smile on her lips and her blue eyes gazing lovingly at her. She was wearing her red and gray armor that once belonged to her dead father.

Peebee gently ran her index finger on the frame, moving them on Ryder's lips, remembering their smoothness in her mind. Her eyes were watery, she gulped, trying to fight the tears. She had to stay strong, for both of them.

''This isn't fair. We just began our relation, and look at us now. I'm alone and you're god knows where.'' Peebee said to the image, looking in _her_ eyes, wishing the pathfinder were here with her, celebrating her birthday together.

A tear dropped on the picture, running on its glass surface, blurring her view of the photo inside. Peebee rapidly passed her thumb on it, wiping the liquid off the frame.

Her heart was heavy. She was lying on Sara's bed, refusing to talk to anyone. She needed to be alone, to think of her lover and hope that she wasn't dead.

_She can't be, she mustn't be_ , Peebee thought. She stood up, stretching her arms, moving them in circle in the air. When she walked to Sara's work desk, she was touched by the emails on her terminal.

Some wrote things like: _We hope you find your way back to us, hope that you're strong and alive out there, giving those kett bastards hell. They'll pay for what they have done with their lives.We, all of us here at the Angara embassy on the Nexus, want you back in one piece. We will order our scout to look for you all over Andromeda, they shall not rest until you are with your peers once again._

Others were more formal but touching nonetheless. All meant to show her-if she returns, their support and wishes of welfare.

No, not if but when Peebee corrected herself. She had made a silent promise to Ryder, in that final look they had shared. She promised to find her and that is exactly what she is going to do.

With a renewed will, she gathered her things in her gray backpack, swung it on her shoulders and left the quarters, _her_ quarters. She had work to do, a pathfinder to find and lots of kett to kill.


	2. Bad Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A darker chapter than the previous one, not a very long one but I hope you enjoy it. Thanks again for reading.

Ryder was dreaming, she was dreaming of better, calmer times. Of her family together back in the Milky Way, of her brother running after her when they were kids, playing cat and mouse. Those were cherished memories of a past long gone but not forgotten.

 

Images of her first girlfriend flashed in her mind, memories of her laughs with her, the painful feelings of guilt and anger she had felt at her first break up. Buried memories and unwanted feelings that she thought she had forgotten long ago assaulted her brain.

 

Suddenly, the world she was in whirled uncontrollably, the ground under her disappeared, and she was falling. Total blackness all around and she was spinning in it.

 

She landed hard on the snowy ground of Voeld, cold snow flakes fell on her unprotected face, stinging her cheeks with its cold frozen bite.

 

She wore her helmet, but its visor was shattered, and what caused the damage to it was lost to her. She felt intense pain erupting from her back, moving all the way to her chest. When she looked down, her eyes grew wider. A long spike had impaled her, rust and blood, her blood, ran on its edges.

 

The faces of her friends, of her family on board the Tempest, abruptly appeared in front of her. Anger radiated on them. She wanted to scream, but it was always impossible to get them out of her throat in this reality.

 

The images faded away, leaving Ryder alone in the cold night. She heard a faint voice coming from her left.

 

 

''Ryder?'' it was Peebee's. Sara turned to look at her but couldn't find her anywhere.

 

''Sara, why did you leave? Why have you left me to die?'' Her voice had changed, it was wrong, deeper and lower than usual.

 

''I didn't! I left so you could live!'' She said, her voice lower than a whisper. She had to find her, to hold the asari in her arms. She needed to know that her girlfriend was alright, safe and sound.

 

There, she was there, meters away from her, but Sara couldn't move, her feet were now stuck in some sort of glue, preventing from moving. No, no no no, shit. She mentally screamed.

 

''All the ones you love and care about will die in front of you and there will be no way for you to save them'' an evil voice boomed in her head. It wanted to corrupt her, to grab her soul and drink all the light and the good from it. Peebee's inert corpse laid in front of her, her face a bloody mess. Next to her, scattered on the Tempest's floor, were the bodies of her crew lying dead, heads resting on the ground. She had failed them, all of them. She was powerless, alone and lost for all eternity.

* * *

 

Ryder woke up abruptly, her one good not swollen eye opened wide, taking in her surroundings. She was on the floor in the same cell she'd been in since her capture two months ago.

 

Her blurred mind began to wake up, and so did her nerve system. Her body registered all the bruises and broken bones, sending waves of pain to her brain.

 

''Argh, shit'' she groaned as she tried to stand up. She looked down and noticed that her right thigh had begun bleeding again. Great, just fucking great.

 

She felt blood sliding from her forehead all the way down to her cheek, the gash on her left temple hadn't healed yet. Her captors had really done a number on her during her last beating.

 

She had tried to escape many times. She had almost made it the last time. She had managed to steal a small compact iron cutter, a handy little tool that could be easily worn on one's belt. She had used it to cut herself free from her shackles and escape the room through the ventilation shafts, unnoticed. Or so she had thought.

 

It had taken her minutes to free herself, and it had taken them mere seconds to catch her. Those kett bastards had implanted a transmitter under her skin somewhere in her body. They always knew where she was.

 

Her punishment had been a hard beating and a deprivation of food and water. They wouldn't starve her to death, she knew, not when they were using her for their experiments. The food and drinks would come back eventually.

 

She had no clue on what the kett were trying to achieve here. They stuck needles in her arms and legs; they had drained blood in flasks, and for what?

 

Ryder remembered the exaltation process, recalled how it altered the victim's D.N.A and replaced it with Kett's genetics. Whatever they were doing, it wasn't anything good. She had to get out of here. A thought appeared in her mind, and she grinned slightly at it. Yes, this could actually work she murmured to herself.

 

''SAM, inform me when the next kett patrol approaches, I may have an idea.''

* * *

 

 

''Where is it''Peebee yelled. She threw a right hook at the Turain in front of her. The blow connected with his nose, blood spilled on her clenched fingers, staining her glove. It was a small price to pay, for that Turian outlaw scumbag had something that might help her find Ryder.

 

Her heart rushed at the thought of her lover, thumping hard on her ribcage. She shook her head, dismissing the anxious feeling that grew in her stomach. She had to remain focused. She had to.

 

''You crazy bi...''he began to say but was cut off by another vicious punch to the face, this one landed on his jaw.

Jaal shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. He wasn't enjoying the situation, but he was smart enough to stay out of the asari's way.

 

''First, don't call me names. Second, all of this could have been avoided if you had just given me what I wanted'' Peebee said, bringing the Turain's face inches from hers, forcing him to look into her eyes.

 

She wanted to punch him again, and again and again, but she forced herself to remain calm. She needed what he had after all, and killing him wasn't going to help her much.

 

''Ok ok. What's it worth to you anyway?'' the outlaw asked, his mandibles twitching in fear.

 

''The life of someone I care about a lot!'' she growled, tightening her grip on the collar of his jacket. ''Something you may not ever know or understand''.

 

He rolled his eyes in his head, chuckling a little as he did so. Peebee fought the urge to smack his face with her gun handle.

 

''Love. Ah well. The thing you want, that AI tracker you're looking for, it's at the charlatan's HQ'' he answered her, a drip of venom in his voice. _You have to be kidding me!_

 

She unclenched her fingers from the Turian's collar and walked toward the door when his voice stopped her.

 

''You should know one thing. Reyes, how could I phrase it? Let's just say he has issues with your pathfinder, so you might not be so welcome there.''

 

Peebee knew all about it. Reyes had tried to seduce Ryder and had, somehow managed to manipulate her, letting her believe he was a kind person. The day Sara had shot him in the back, injuring him, is the day he promised revenge on her and her team.

 

Her day has just become more complicated than she'd like.

 


	3. The escape plan

 

''Absolutely not!'' Sloane Kelly shouted. She was furious, and Peebee couldn't help but take a step backward.

 

She understood why the leader of the exiles was so angry. Reyes had her lieutenant beaten and left to die and had also tried to murder her. He would have succeeded if not for Ryder's intervention. She had the rights to hold a grudge.

 

''I know you two aren't close, to say the least, but we need his help'' she said, looking at the woman straight in the eyes. She needed to prove her point, to make Sloane understand what was at stake here.

 

''For what, so that he could stab you in the back as he did me?'' asked Sloane, her trigger finger twitching in frustration.

 

Peebee felt her own anger boiling inside but buried the feeling as fast as she could. Now was not the time to make things personal.

 

Back in the early days of the Nexus, Peebee knew, Sloane Kelly had been in charge of the station's security. As director, she had to be a strong and fearless person, to forge her mind and body to face any situation. She was an imposing figure, stronger and taller than Ryder but the thing that she lacked compared to the pathfinder was her charms.

 

Sara knew how to talk to you, how to make you feel important and relevant. Peebee knew that she had become a better and more open woman because of her. Ryder had helped her countless times, and now, it was her turn to do so.

 

''He has something I need to find Ryder, to track the AI that is bonded with her implant. If there is even a single chance that this will help me track her down, even though how slim it might be, I will take it without a single thought. And after all she did for you, helping you with the kett and saving your life, so should you'' Peebee had poured all she had got in her plea for help. She hoped that it would be enough to convince the stubborn outlaw leader.

 

Sloane seemed to consider all this for a moment, and she passed a finger on a fresh scar caused by Reyes during their last encounter. Her eyes were thoughtful and her jaw clenched and unclenched as she worked her mind around her options.

 

''So, what's it gonna be?'' Liam asked impatiently. Peebee wondered for the hundredth time why she had agreed to him coming along with them.

 

_What is he doing? If he doesn't shut that big mouth of is, he might spoil the whole negotiations. Ohh Peebee, what were you thinking?_

 

Peebee shifted her weight on her left foot, bringing more force in her swing. Using her elbow, she hit him straight in the ribs, penetrating the softer part of his armor. He grunted loudly and threw her a scowl. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it as he saw Peebee flash her biotics toward him.

 

_Smart man, if he knows what's good for him, he'll keep it shut._

 

''All right, I'll help you find him, but at one condition'' Sloane finally said, a smirk on her lips.

 

''Name your price'' Peebee said, a bit annoyed. Of course, there would be conditions, what else could she expect from an outlaw.

 

''I might, in the near future, be in need of assistance from your pathfinder. That damn AI in her head could be useful for a few things here on Kadara. I help you with this, and she helps me in return for saving her life, that's simple''.

 

Peebee mentally rolled her eyes. Ryder wasn't a tool that Sloane could use for whatever shady deal she had. On the other hand, Sloane Kelly was a powerful ally, and honestly, Peebee needed all the help she can get.

 

''It's a deal'' she said reluctantly.

 

 

Reyes Vidal's base of operations was located in a series of caverns near one of the monoliths that Ryder had activated months ago. He had chosen a new location since his last encounter with them.

 

His issues with Ryder were deep, and Peebee doubted that he would ever agree to help them.

 

His security team turned out to be easier to eliminate than she thought. They hadn't killed anyone since that would make Reyes even more reluctant to help.

 

''Well look who's here'' Vidal's eyes were wide, the corner of his mouth twitched without his consent. He was sitting on some sort of throne-if you can call a stack of crates piled on one another a throne.

 

''To what do I owe the pleasure of having the Initiative invading my humble home''?

 

''Let's cut the crap Reyes, you have something I need, and you're going to give it to us'' Peebee growled. She raised her pistol to his face while Liam and Jall covered the main door.

 

''And why would I do that'' the charlatan asked, a smug smile on his lips. The presence of Peebee's weapon aimed at his head didn't seem to bother him even slightly. That had to change.

 

Peebee moved her hand to the left and squeezed the trigger, her bullet flew only inches from Reyes's right ear, scraping his lobe as it flew past him. His eyes widened, he brought his right hand to cover his ear. Blood slipped through his fingers and spilled to the floor. Now he was scared.

 

''Now, give me that AI detector of yours before it gets messy down here'' she said.

 

He opened his mouth to argue, but she interrupted him by moving her weapon back on his faces.

 

''And if the next thing to come out of that hole on your face you call a mouth is not the answer I want, well, we both know where the next bullet goes''.

 

After a very long moment of awkward silent starring, he casually moved to a locker near him, opened it and threw it at of Peebee's feet, landing with a loud clang on the rocky floor.

 

''I know what you want to do with it. Tell Ryder, if she's still alive, that Reyes sends his regards and that he expects his efforts to be rewarded'' he said.

 

Peebee laughed out loud. She bent down to retrieve the scanner and left the room, chuckling mockingly at him. Things went better than expected and she felt extremely pleased with herself. With the scanner in her possession, she was now one step closer in her search for Ryder.

 

_You're coming home Ryder, just hang tight_.

* * *

 

 

''Ryder, you need to move'' said SAM through their private channel. She couldn't risk moving just yet, not when her captor stood only inches away from her. She had to wait for the perfect opportunity.

 

She was lying face down on the concrete floor, blood spilling from her nose. She had to make it believable. Her captor had to believe that she was badly injured, so Sara had deliberately broken her nose on one of the windows in the cell.

 

When the guard finally crouched beside her, taking a closer look at her bloodied face, she opened her eyes and moved to fast for her captor to react.

 

Ryder punched the kett with all the energy she had left. She fell back on the floor as her fist landed on the alien's chin, the force of her punch broke his neck with a loud crack. She crawled next to his inert form, passing her hand on his waist.

 

She touched something that looked like a key, Ryder yanked it free from the belt and used it to open her cuffs. She rubbed her sore wrists after freeing herself from her shackles.

 

''SAM, have you found where those ketts have placed that tracking device on me'' Sara asked, her hands searching the dead kett once again in hopes of finding a fire arm. Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing a gun, but she found a long curved knife. That will have to do.

 

''Yes pathfinder. It is everywhere inside you'' said her AI.

 

''What do you mean everywhere'' Ryder asked, puzzled.

 

''Ryder, the transmitter is in your blood stream. We can't get it out as planned, not without the assistance of a doctor'' answered SAM flatly.

 

''Shit'' Sara wasn't happy at all. The last time she had kett technology inside her blood, it hadn't ended up very well for her. Her carefully thought plan would not work if the transmitter is still active. She hadn't planned for that situation.

 

Well, now was the time for Ryder to do what she does best, improvise. If she was quick enough and strong enough, she might get out of this suicide mission in one piece. Now armed with her knife, she used the dead kett's security card to open the door and stepped out unnoticed.

* * *

 

After running like hell for almost an hour, dodging kett patrols by hiding in the ventilation shaft or inside empty rooms, she finally reached her destination, the communication room.

 

''Okay, SAM you're gonna have to give me some help with all this, cause I don't understand one single word on that keyboard'' Sara frowned at the weird looking symbols on the console. The terminal had an insane amount of buttons on it. _Why can't these things come with a manual? Well, even if they did, I still wouldn't understand a peep of it._

 

''Anything SAM'' she asked, wiping the fresh blood off her nose. She must surely look like hell, with her hair soaked in dry blood and a large gash that ran from the top of her right cheek all the way down to her chin. Good thing I'm not going on a date night.

 

SAM was oddly quiet all of the sudden. Shivers ran down Sara's spine, and she was beginning to have a bad feeling about this.

 

''SAM you still there''?

''Your AI cannot help you worm'' a deep voice boomed behind her blocking the only exit of the room. She recognized it; it was the same voice that she heard in her nightmares, but this time, he was real.

 

She turned around to have a better look at him, but before she could see her enemy, the kett moved so fast that all she saw was a dark shadow moving toward her. The shadow punched her straight in the face. The pathfinder stumbled backward, tripping over a nearby chair. She fell hard on the floor, and her vision began to fade into darkness once more.

 

But before her eyes closed completely, she heard the nightmare say-

 

'' I've told you before, you will watch all your friends die in front of you and you will be powerless to save them''. She tried to stay awake, but her lids felt so heavy, and her head was pounding so hard in her skull that, eventually, she stopped fighting and let herself fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

 

''Over here, I found her'' after hours of searching every room in the kett ship and fighting many kett soldiers, Cora finally found Ryder handcuffed to a chair inside what looked like a comm room.

 

She stared at the pathfinder, taking mental notes of all her injuries. Peebee's voice erupted in the earplug in her left ear.

 

''How's she?'' the asari asked impatiently.

 

''I think you should come and see for yourself, Drack alert Lexi to be ready for our arrival.'' Cora knelt next to Ryder and used her biotics to cut the metal chains around the pathfinder's wrists to pieces.

 

Ryder's head slumped on Cora's shoulder. Her breathing was uneven, and her forehead was extremely hot.

 

''OH NO! Is she?'' Peebee rushed to Sara's side, her right hand searching madly for a pulse. She was as anxious as Cora had ever seen her.

 

''She's alive Peebee. Alive but badly hurt, we need to extract her now'' Cora tried to hide the anxiety in her voice. As Sara's second in command, she couldn't afford to let emotions get the better of her. Peebee was murmuring something to herself, her eyes lost in some reverie.

 

''Peebee, if we don't move now she will die, do you understand?'' Cora shouted at Peebee.

 

Peebee's eyes became alive once more, and she looked at Cora with fierce determination. She grabbed Ryder by the arm and gently raised her up with the help of the human biotic.

 

''Lexi, we're heading back to the Tempest, but Ryder is hurt and needs immediate medical attention'' shouted Peebee in the comms. ''Those ketts are gonna pay for that''.

* * *

 

The shadow watched from his command post on the bridge as the duo carried the wounded pathfinder back to that ship of theirs. A smile crept on its face as the alien vessel blasted away from the hangar bay. Those pathetic insects think they've won, but the shadow knew better.

 

''Now, the real experiment begins'' The shadow laughed and pressed a series of commands on a console and watched as the viewport changed to a holographic display of the Heleus cluster.

 


	4. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don't know how much fun I had writing this. It's also the first time that I write a meld scene. I also added a little glimpse into Peebee's past in this chapter. Thanks for the comments and the Kudos. Happy reading, more is on the way, and you guys are the best xD

Ryder's eyes slowly opened. She felt the heaviness in them as her eyelids opened. Her whole body was tired and heavy, all her limbs numb. She blinked twice. Her vision was hazy, unfocused. Bright white lights blinded her, and she tried to cover her face with her right hand but stopped when she felt pain in it.

 

When she moved her neck to the right, she saw a long tube sticking out of her hand. She forced her eyes to follow the tube to a monitor near her bed. Where was she? Was she still onboard the kett prison ship, or was she somewhere else entirely.

 

 _I've got to get out of here,_ Sara thought, anxiety growing in her guts. Her heart raced in her chest, she felt sweat running down on her forehead, and her throat was dry.

 

 _I have to get out of this place. I have to get free!_ She repeated the sentence over and over again in her head. Sara forced her legs to move, but all she managed to do was to jerk them slightly to the right.

 

 _SAM, you have to help me_ , she thought, hoping that her AI would hear her silent call for help. She needed his help to escape, to survive. But SAM remained silent, and Sara was, once again, left alone. She felt so lonely. Her AI was gone, her brother was light years away from her and, more importantly, she was without the only women she ever loved. _I am destined to die alone._

 

When she first arrived in Andromeda nearly a year ago, she had hoped to start anew, for her and her family. Scott had been the one to talk her into leaving they're home, to a fresh beginning in a whole new galaxy. Now, her father was dead, and her mother was still sleeping in stasis aboard the Hyperion and Scott was training to become a Pathfinder. Nothing had turned out the way it was supposed to.

 

''Hey, you're awake'' said a very familiar voice to her left. It was Peebee's voice, but could it truly be her. If it was Peebee, then it meant that she wasn't imprisoned anymore, it meant that she was home. A dark thought came to her, making her more anxious. What if this was somehow another trick of the ketts, to let her believe that she was free? What if it was a new way to torment her, a new psychological drug that targeted and altered the memory part of the brain? She wanted to scream, but her voice caught in her throat.

 

''It's okay babe, you're home, you're safe'' Peebee brought a hand on Sara's shoulder. She recognized Peebee's touch on her body, the warm, soft touch of her hand on her skin. Sara's eyes relaxed a little. Her breathing became more even as she realized where she really was.

 

Tears appeared in her eyes as Peebee softly stroke her jawline, whispering in her ear. She was home, after many months of enduring pain and experiments by the hands of the kett, she could relax at last. Peebee cradled Sara's head in her left hand, playing with the pathfinder's hair.

 

''I knew you were alive. The others, they all thought you were dead, but I never lost hope.'' Peebee's voice was barely a whisper. She had known all along that Ryder wasn't dead. Ever since their melding, all those months ago, she and Sara shared a connection together. She could almost feel when the pathfinder was happy or moody or when she was at peace or in distress. The mere thought of their shared connection sent butterfly in her stomach. She wanted to meld again, to make sure that Ryder was indeed fine. But now wasn't the time.

 

After a long moment of silent hugging and kissing, Ryder finally found the will to speak.

 

''Peebee, is it truly over?'' She asked, her voice was so small that the asari had a hard time hearing the words that came out of her partner's mouth. Sara's eyes locked on hers, and Peebee saw all the pain in them. It pained her to see Ryder like that.

 

''Yea'' she said, combing Ryder's hair,''you're home''. Fresh tears ran down Sara's cheeks, leaving hot trails behind. Peebee brought her lips on Ryder's. They kissed in silence for a long moment, Ryder whimpering between kisses.

* * *

It took two days for Lexi to let Ryder out of the med bay. She had given her more meds than she had ever received in her whole life. Peebee had been along with her the whole time, only leaving to go to the bathroom or to grab something to eat for both of them.

 

''Can you help me stand please'' Ryder extended a hand for Peebee to grab. The asari took it, and together they left the med bay.

 

''Going to bed?'' asked the asari. She hoped that Sara would retire to her quarters so the two of them could catch up and make up for lost time.

 

''Not yet, I want to see the rest of the crew. I have to let the team know how much I appreciate their help''. Ryder's voice was thin. Her injuries were far from healed but she wanted to see the others.

 

Peebee felt a bit disappointed, but she didn't let it show. If Sara needed time to talk to the others, then that's what they would do. As much as she wanted to meld again with the pathfinder, she could wait a bit more. She had been waiting for more than six months, so five or ten more minutes wouldn't hurt.

 

Sara leaned on Peebee for support as they walked toward the elevator. Seeing her ship after all this time made her feel at home. Old memories of the adventures Ryder and her crew went on raced in her mind. Memories of the time she spent with Peebee, kissing and fooling around the ships dark corners when the others weren't looking.

 

Sara smiled as she remembered that time Liam almost stumbled upon them, half naked. She and Peebee had been relieving stress behind crates next to the nomad. When they heard him approach, they awkwardly froze and prayed that he wouldn't look their way as he entered his room.

 

''Talk about a rush, we have to do that more often Pathfinder'' Peebee had breathlessly told her. Sara's face was flushed with embarrassment, and the asari had laughed so hard at her. These were the kind of memories that Ryder cherished.

 

What she saw when she arrived at the research and development station, made her heart miss a beat.

 

''Dad?'' there he was, alive and well, staring at her, a warm smile on his face. But, that couldn't be, Alec died on their first mission in Andromeda, it couldn't be him.

 

''What?'' Peebee sounded worried. Ryder turned her head to look at her.

 

''There is no one there Ryder'' said Peebee. When Sara moved her head once again, all she saw were the computers and a quiet and deserted hall. Alec, her dad, her mentor, was gone once again. It made her heart ache with grief.

 

''Are you sure you don't want to lie down for a bit?'' Peebee asked her. She was frowning at the confused pathfinder.

 

''No, I'm okay.'' Sara rubbed her eyes, trying to ignore the look Peebee gave her. _I don't know why I saw dad? He looked so real! Maybe it's just my implant malfunctioning. I'll have to ask SAM to run a diagnostic later._

* * *

 

Talking to the crew had taken longer than Peebee expected. Two hours, it had taken two long hours before they retired to the Pathfinder's quarters. Seeing the team had apparently relaxed Ryder somehow.

 

In a weird way, listening to Liam argue with Jaal on who would win between the two of them in an arm wrestling battle, had also relaxed Peebee.Or maybe it was the smile on Sara's face that made her feel at peace. Every time Peebee saw that smile, all the happiness, and innocence in the young pathfinder's eyes brought butterflies in her stomach.

 

''Argh, I'm wasted'' Sara growled. She slumped face first on the bed, yawning loudly. Peebee chuckled at the half awake, half asleep women. She bit her lower lip as an idea crossed her mind.

 

''How about, you lay there and let me give you a nice back massage?'' Peebee sat on the bed next to Ryder. The asari saw a weak smile on Sara's face as she ran the idea in her head.

 

''That would be nice'' she answered.

 

''That's all I need to hear. Let me just get this shirt off of you.'' Sara's eyes shot wide open as she felt her shirt lift from her back.

 

''Wait!'' she said, a little too loud. Peebee flinched as Sara got on her feet. The pathfinder almost ran to her private bathroom.

 

Peebee stood still for a moment. What just happened? Did she do something wrong? Did she say something bad? Peebee stared at the closed door for a long time. When she heard muffled cries from the other side of the door, Peebee got to her feet and rushed toward the bathroom.

 

''Babe, are you okay?'' Peebee asked. She tried to open the door, but the handle wouldn't budge.

 

''Go away Peebs, please'' Peebee could barely make out the words. She didn't know or understand why Ryder was acting this way. Humans were so complicated at times.

 

 

''I won't go away Ryder. Hell, I won't step away from that door until you tell me what's going on with you''. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to use her biotics to open the door. Unfortunately, Ryder didn't unlock the door as Peebee hoped.

 

''Come on Ryder, you can talk to me. I will be here for you, just like you were there for me when I needed you most''.

 

''I...I don't want you to... See me like that'' Ryder said between sobs.

 

''See you like how?'' Peebee asked. She didn't know why Ryder was so upset about that. Besides a few unhealed cuts on her cheeks and forehead, Ryder wasn't looking so bad.

 

''I'm a mess Peebs, I've been fucking tortured and beaten weekly, it left...'' she trailed off mid sentence, crying loudly once again.

 

''I don't care how you look Ryder. Now open the door please''.

 

A long moment of silence fell in the room before Peebee heard a familiar click. She slowly turned the handle and was glad to see that it fully turned. When she stepped inside the bathroom, she saw Ryder on the floor, her face buried in her knees.

 

Peebee passed a hand through Sara's hair, hugging her tightly. She kissed her on the cheek, hoping that it would calm Ryder. The pathfinder was sobbing uncontrollably in Peebee's arms.

 

''Hey, I've got you, you're safe with me'' Peebee whispered. Those were the same words that Ryder had told her when they first joined their minds together. _Yes, that's it Peebee, you're a genius._ She told herself as an idea appeared in her mind.

 

Peebee could use the meld to ease Ryder's thoughts and share with Sara some of her memories. The idea of going back to that world she and Sara had made for themselves sent shivers on her body.

 

''Close your eyes babe''. Peebee closed her own eyes, focusing solely on what she was doing. When she reopened them, she and Ryder were floating in a sea of stars and lights and nebulas. Pink and blue clouds flew past them.

 

Whenever she was melding with Ryder, Peebee always skipped the _embrace eternity_ thing. She always thought that it sounded pretentious.

 

Sara opened her eyes, slowly becoming aware of the gorgeous display that surrounded them. Ryder's blue eyes locked on green ones. A purple cloud flew past them. Its bright glow made Peebee's blue skin shine. With the mix of blue with purple, Sara thought that Peebee looked more beautiful than ever.

 

''Thanks, I think you look gorgeous too'' Peebee whispered in her ear. It surprised the human a little, but then she remembered that in the meld, they could both hear what each other was thinking at the moment.

 

Ryder was overwhelmed by all the sheer happiness and love that Peebee mentally threw her way. She bathed in the warm feeling it left in her. Sara brought her lips to Peebee's mouth, kissing her with passion. All of this, this connection they shared, the world they created for themselves, it was all so unique to Sara. It was the greatest gift that Peebee had ever given her. Just the two of them, their love and nothing else, that's what she enjoyed the most out of the meld.

 

''I'm gonna share with you something that I never shared with anyone else.''Peebee's voice echoed in her head. ''Close your eyes, this will only take a moment''.

 

Sara closed them as ordered. In her mind's eye, she saw faces that were unknown to her, people she had never met. The weird thing is that it all felt familiar. She was reliving an old memory from Peebee's past. She saw Kalinda raise a fist on her, felt pain as the blow connected with her jaw. The memory suddenly shifted to a place on Eos. Ryder saw herself through Peebee's eyes, as the asari tackled her to the ground.

 

''What I'm trying to tell you, Ryder, is that I'm not the one who saved you. No, you are the one who saved me. From Kalinda, from my old self.'' Peebee said. Sara slowly reopened her eyes. Peebee was flushing. Sara smiled at her.

 

The meld began to fade away, the stars and clouds that floated around were slowly replaced by the walls and concrete floor of the bathroom. Ryder could just float around the stars with Peebee for all eternity if it were possible, but sharing that memory with Ryder must have exhausted Peebee.

 

''I...I don't know what to say'' Ryder whispered to Peebee. She never knew that Kalinda had raised fists on her beloved asari. Peebee had never told her.

 

''I do, thank you, Sara, for everything.'' They hugged on the floor, kissing and whispering in each other's ear.

 

_I'm home, and I'm not alone._

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've changed the rating from Mature to Explicit due to the subject matter in this chapter. Sorry for the long delay in updating the work, I'm going through a tough period and I meant to update it a week ago but couldn't bring myself to write a single word. Thanks again for following the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter. More will come soon :)

The Tempest's halls were quiet, the crew deep asleep. Maybe not all of the crew. Sara was confident that Kallo was still at the helm of the ship. That Salarian never seemed to leave his seat, except when nature called or when he had to argue with Gil.

 

Ryder sat at the edge of her bed, watching Peebee sleep peacefully, her head resting on the pillow that Sara had given to her when the asari had moved into her room. She reached for a glass of cool water that waited on her nightstand.

 

She threw two pills into her mouth, swallowing them as she poured water down her throat. One was meant to numb the pain in her body; the other was supposed to calm her mind. Lexi had assured her that she would sleep better with that kind of drug.

 

But drugs were the last thing that Ryder wanted, but she didn't want to get on the doctor's bad side, so she took both of them anyways. It still wasn't clear to her what those ketts had wanted with her blood, but Sara had the terrible feeling that it wouldn't be long until they discovered the secrets behind those experiments.

 

She didn't want to face whatever evil plan those monsters were plotting against the initiative. But she knew that, as the Pathfinder, it was both her responsibility and duty to uncover their vile plan.

 

''If only you were here Scott,'' Sara kept her voice low. She didn't want to wake her girlfriend; she deserved to rest after everything she went through to rescue her. Scott's training was important, but Sara would have loved to be able to hug her brother right now. They had always supported each other during tough times in their lives, and now more than ever, she needed her twin brother by her side.

 

''There are so many people relying on me to always do the right choice. I can't-do it all alone anymore little brother''.

 

Peebee squirmed on the bed, yanking the blanket on her side as she moved. Her sleepy eyes stared at Ryder in a way that she always found very attractive. The asari always had that effect on her; she always had the right words or the right looks to get her aroused.

 

''Hey, I'm sorry I woke you up'' Ryder said. She bent to give Peebee a quick kiss on the cheek. Peebee giggled and her eyes cleared as she slowly awoke.

 

''It's not just a small kiss on the cheek that's going to make me forgive you pathfinder'' she shot a look at Ryder that made the human blush.

 

Sara straddled Peebee and bent down to kiss her again, this time on the lips. Goosebumps appeared everywhere on her body, the hair at the back of her neck stood on edge. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. Sara moved her tongue inside the asari's mouth, dancing with her lover's wet tongue. Ryder became increasingly aware of all the feelings in her body. She felt the muscles in her legs work as she moved her body back and forth against Peebee, who was lying on her back. The air around them felt fresh and light. All her senses were overwhelmed by pleasant sensations. Ryder caught a whiff of Peebee's perfume. It's sweet scent of vanilla mixed with some other plants that Sara didn't recognize, left a pleasant odor in her nose.

 

Sara began fondling Peebee's head crests while she used her other hand to strip Peebee free from her purple leather jacket. Ryder broke the kiss to allow them both to breath a little. She gazed at Peebee with craving eyes and was glad to notice that the asari was looking at her with the same burning desire.

 

''Is that good for an apology?'' Sara asked, winking at Peebee. The asari made a face as she sat up. She seemed to be considering her answer.

 

''I'd say that's a start, but you are not off the hook yet Ryder.'' Peebee, now free of her jacket, passed her hands under Ryder's white and blue shirt. She cupped Sara's breast with both hands. The human gasped at the warm touch on her skin as Peebee slowly glided her fingertips down her nipples, making them hard. Ryder took her shirt off and threw it away. Peebee brought her mouth to Sara's neck, nibbling at it ever so gently, while she gave Ryder's breasts an experimental squeeze.

 

Sara moaned loudly, her eyes were wide and filled with lust. She arched her back, giving Peebee full access to her exposed chest. Sara's skin was on fire; every touch brought new feelings that she hadn't felt in a very long time.

 

Peebee began sucking at her breast very slowly. She slid her hands down and stopped at the human's waistband. Peebee unbuckled the belt and watched as Ryder removed her jeans. The asari took handfuls of Ryder's bare ass and squeezed it, hard.

 

Ryder brought her hands on Peebee's shoulders and pushed her back onto the mattress, pinning her on the bed.

 

Peebee moaned as the human crushed her lips on her mouth. All the stress from the past months melted away, as she fully gave herself to her desires for Ryder. Sara kissed her again and again, each new kiss hungrier than the last. It was delightful.

 

''Ouch!'' Sara groaned. It was only now that Peebee came to realize that her hands had unconsciously moved all the way from Ryder's ass to her bruised ribs.

 

''Fuck! Sara, I'm so sorry! I...I forgot about the bruises.'' She felt like an idiot. She quickly drew her hands away from Ryder as she sat back up again. Sara was clutching her right side, eyes watering because of the pain.

 

''I think we should wait, Ryder,'' said Peebee in a small voice. The last thing she ever wanted to do was to hurt Sara. Ryder glanced at her and shot her a quick smile.

 

''No! I've been waiting for too long,'' she answered. She pressed her lips on Peebee's mouth once again. An idea came to Peebee as Ryder tried to push her back on the bed.

 

The asari seized Sara by the waist-avoiding her injuries this time-and rolled the Pathfinder until she was under her. Ryder, lying on her back, was now straddled by the asari.

 

''Well, that looks familiar,'' she smirked at Peebee.

 

''What can I say? I like watching you from the top. Plus it always gets you all flustered.'' teased Peebee. She bent down to kiss Sara's neck. She headed downward, sliding her mouth and tongue from Ryder's neck, all the way down to her waist. She teased Ryder's sex with one finger, making slow circular movements around it.

 

''Fuck,'' groaned Ryder as the asari slowly licked her clit. Sara felt herself go wet as Peebee made a second pass with her tongue. She gradually penetrated Sara's sex, going as far as she possibly could.

 

For a long moment, the world seemed to fade away. Ryder's head was spinning, as the asari brought a finger to her clit and began thrusting, matching the speed of her tongue. Ryder grasped at the nearest part of Peebee's body. Her fingers locked on the asari's head crests. She used her grip to press Peebee's head firmly against her vagina.

 

''Don't stop!'' she moaned. It felt good. The rubbing motion of Peebee's face on her body made her skin feel like it was on fire. Peebee increased the pace. She moved her finger back and forth faster, taking Ryder closer to her orgasm.

 

But the asari wasn't going to let the human come just yet; she wanted the moment to last longer. When Sara's grip on her head weakened, Peebee pushed her head backward, watching Ryder with an evil grin on her soaked lips. That earned her a quizzical look from Ryder.

 

''What's wrong?'' she asked, then she saw the smirk on Peebee's face. ''Peebs...please!''

 

Her pleading didn't make Peebee budge an inch. She sucked the finger she had used to massage Ryder and winked at the pathfinder.

 

''You like torturing me don't you?'' Ryder asked. She was about to sit up when Peebee pinned her on the bed. The asari seized Ryder's arms in a firm grasp, holding Sara tight on the mattress.

 

''Maybe,'' Peebee chuckled and began sucking at her earlobe. She resumed her thrusting of Ryder's clit, using two hands this time.

 

Hearing Ryder moan made Peebee shiver in excitement. The pathfinder's body was covered in sweat, her breathing was heavy, and her eyes were unfocused. Ryder moved her hips toward Peebee, forcing the asari's fingers to go deeper in her.

 

''Fuck...'' Sara screamed when Peebee decided to grab her breasts with her free hand.

 

''I knew you would like that'' Peebee said, feeling proud of herself. Peebee would love to be touched right now, but she knew that if she let Ryder touch her, she would end up hurting the human by accident. Sara's injuries were still unhealed, and Peebee didn't want to put her recovery at risk. That would only make Lexi furious.

 

 

Ryder was unable to give Peebee a response; her words stuck in her throat. She arched her back, her head sunk deeper in her pillow. It didn't take long for Peebee to work Sara into a frenzy. The pathfinder felt her legs lock and she screamed again as her orgasm crashed into her. She trembled as she rode out the orgasm.

 

Their heavy breathing was the only noise that could be heard in the now, very silent room. A few aftershocks caused Sara to twitch as Peebee removed her drenched fingers from her sex. Ryder's heart was running in her chest, and she struggled to inhale evenly.

 

''That was perfect,'' she told Peebee breathlessly. Sara felt awesome, but a small feeling of guilt grew in her guts. She couldn't make Peebee feel the same euphoria that she felt, and that made her even more frustrated at her injuries.

 

''What's wrong?''asked Peebee, noticing the change in Ryder's mood.

 

''I'm sorry I couldn't do anything for you. After everything you've been through and all you did to find me, I wanted you to be able to relieve some stress.'' Sara answered. She felt a little dizzy, so she decided to close her eyes for a moment. It seemed that those sleeping pills she took were beginning to take effect on her.

 

''Don't worry about it, Ryder. But you'll owe me...'' Peebee stopped mid-sentence when she heard Ryder snoring. A stupid, puzzled expression settled on her face. When she saw the empty glass of water next to Sara's prescribed pills on the small desk next to the bed, she understood.

 

''Smooth Ryder! Very smooth.'' sliding under the bed sheets, she gave Ryder a quick kiss on the cheek and fell asleep only seconds later.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not yet very comfortable in writing smut but let me know if you liked it;)


	6. Revelations

Ryder shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Lexi had insisted that she pass a few more tests before returning to active duty. As Pathfinder, Sara's job was never finished, she would always have people to help and issues to solve. Terraforming the Heleus cluster would take decades of hard work before it would be entirely habitable. Yes, she and her crew had already done the impossible by taking Meridian from the kett, but that was only the beginning of the work.

  
  


''Ok Ryder, one more exam before I send you on your way,'' said Lexi. Sara rolled her eyes in exasperation. She was eager to go back out there, to keep exploring and discovering what else Andromeda had in store for her. She hadn’t crossed space and slept for six hundred years only to stay in bed whenever she felt a bit bruised or sick.

  
  


''That's what you said earlier.'' Sara looked at the time on her omni-tool. ''And that was two hours ago!''

  
  


Lexi scowled at Ryder. Sara flinched at the doctor's hard stare; she’d always wondered how Lexi managed to make her submit to all her exams. She was probably one of the most stubborn asari that Ryder had ever encountered in her life. The most stubborn, but not the most beautiful: that place in Sara's heart already belonged to someone else.

  
  


''I have to make sure that you are at a hundred percent of your full capabilities before signing your medical papers, Sara,'' lectured Lexi. She took a syringe and jabbed it in Ryder's arm.

  
  


''Ouch!'' Sara's right arm was stinging. Her eyes began watering a little.

  
  


''First rule, never anger someone with a needle in hands,'' joked the doctor. She smiled at Ryder.

  
  


''Remind me to never get on your bad side again. I'm gonna feel that for days.'' Ever since her capture, Sara had developed a phobia for needles, short or long.

  
  


''All done,' 'said the asari. Lexi carefully removed the syringe from Ryder's upper arm and gently applied omni-gel to the puncture.

  
  


Lexi signed the papers, writing some notes from her diagnostic, and sent them to the Pathfinder headquarters on the Nexus. As soon as Tann received Lexi's report, Sara was sure that the Initiative director would call to ask her to run some errands for him.

  
  


''Am I free to go now?'' Sara looked at the time again, relieved that her last daily checkup was finally over.

  
  


''Unless you exhibit some pain or unusual symptoms, you are free to leave,'' answered Doctor T'Perro.

  
  


Ryder remembered the few times she had seen hallucinations of her long-dead father a few weeks ago. She wondered if she should tell Lexi about it, but she really wanted to leave the med bay, so she decided to keep it to herself.

  
  


''I'm fine,'' she lied. Sara hated lying to her crew, but if she told Lexi, the asari would have her under constant surveillance and some very heavy meds that Sara had no desire to take. Besides, she hadn’t hallucinated in weeks. Sara’s best theory was that her implant had experienced a glitch or a malfunction, sending false signals to her brain, causing her to see things that weren't real.

  
  


''Good. I think that Suvi was looking for you. She didn't say why but it sounded important,'' Lexi told her.

  
  


''Thanks,'' Sara said. She headed for the exit but stopped at the door, reconsidering if she should tell the doctor about her problem. _Maybe another day_ , she decided. Whatever Suvi had to tell her must be more important than her own issues.

 

* * *

 

  
  


Sara was on her way to the bridge when she heard Cora's voice coming from the bio lab. Her second-in-command sounded uncharacteristically happy, which caught Ryder's attention. Curious, Sara headed toward the lab.

  
  


''Yeah, I miss you too, Scott,'' Cora said in her omni-tool. Had Sara really heard what her lieutenant had just said?

  
  


''Uum...Cora?'' she said when she reached the door frame. Harper jumped in surprise when she realized that the Pathfinder was standing at her door.

  
  


''Sara!'' Cora's face was glowing red. Under different circumstances, Ryder would have found it funny to see Cora all flustered. Harper's eyes went back to her Omni-tool. ''Uh... look, I'll have to call you back later, ok?'' She closed the connection in a hurry, embarrassed that her boss, Scott's sister, had overheard her call.

  
  


Just to make things worse for the human biotic, Peebee sidled up to Sara. She leaned on the frame. The irritating smirk on Peebee’s lips told Cora that the asari knew all too well why she was blushing right now.

  
  


''So, what's up?'' Peebee asked innocently. The asari shot a look at Cora, but Ryder was too astonished by the news to see the exchange between the two of them.

  
  


The Pathfinder's eyes were wide, and her mouth was frozen in place, hanging stupidly half open. Peebee and Cora both stared at her. Scared that Ryder would blow up a vein or pass out completely if the situation wasn't handled right away, Cora stammered,''Ryder! it’s not what it looks like.''

  
  


''Oh, it’s definitely what it looks like!'' Peebee said. Harper scowled at the asari; her face was almost as red as a tomato now.

  
  


''You... Scott...Together? When did that happen?'' Sara couldn't tell if she was dreaming or not.

  
  


'' Well, we began seeing each other shortly after you got captured. We wanted to wait but...'' Cora was unable to look Ryder in the eyes, so she pretended to study the readings that were constantly scrolling on her console's screen.

  
  


''Look, I don't know how to tell you this, but we fell in love, okay?'' Sara's jaw dropped open  so wide that it could have fallen to the ground. Peebee was laughing at both Cora and Ryder now.

  
  


What Ryder said next surprised Peebee a little.

  
  


''I can't believe you kept that kind of information from me!'' Sara felt Peebee stiffen next to her. _Well shit. Nicely done Ryder,_ she thought to herself.

  
  


‘’Why would she have to tell you that?’’asked Peebee.

  
  


‘’I...Well, I might have had a thing for Cora a while back, I’m just surprised to learn that she’s dating my brother, that’s all,’’explained Ryder.

  
  


''You had a thing for Cora?'' asked Peebee, baffled. She pushed herself off the wall and looked at Ryder, her face a mix of confusion and anger.

  
  


''C'mon, you can't be mad at me for that? That was a long time ago. Besides, I don’t have any romantic feelings for her anymore,’’Sara assured the asari.

  
  


_That's the last time I back myself against a wall. SAM, any advice on how to defuse this volatile situation?_ Sara thought. Of course, SAM had no advice to give her; he didn't know how to deal with relationships.

  
  


‘’I wanted to tell you that we were together, but you just came back and you have so much on your plate already, I didn’t want to add that on the list,’’ said Cora.

  
  


‘’Sorry, I overreacted. It’s not like you need my permission to date my brother anyways,’’ said Ryder. ‘’Uh, Peebee…Didn’t you have a project that you wanted to show me?’’Sara hoped that Peebee would say yes, even if it weren’t true. She needed an excuse to escape this awkward moment.

  
  


‘’Yeah,’’said Peebee, nodding her head in affirmative.

 

* * *

 

  
  


When Peebee and Ryder arrived at the bridge, the asari turned to face the Pathfinder. Sara gave her a shy smile and stroked Peebee’s cheek.

  
  


''Are you still mad at me?'' Sara asked Peebee. Yes, she used to have a thing for Cora, but that was way before she had met the asari. Peebee was the only person that Ryder felt like she could truly be herself around, and not feel like the hero the others needed her to be.

  
  


''Of course not! I was just surprised, that's all,'' Peebee assured her. She took Ryder's left hand in her own and pulled it toward her, bringing the Pathfinder closer. Their faces were only inches away from each other; their noses rubbed together.

  
  


''Oh… hi,'' Ryder said, lost for words. Peebee had the superpower to make her forget how words work and how to form them into coherent sentences. Peebee still had that effect on her, even after all these months together. _How is she doing this_?

  
  


Peebee brought her face closer to Ryder's and kissed her passionately She combed Ryder's hair with her left hand while the other one rested on Sara's butt. When the kiss ended, Peebee beamed with pleasure.

  
  


''You see, not mad at all,'' said the asari.

  
  


''I think that I need some further evidence of that, just to be sure,'' Sara murmured in the asari's ear. Peebee giggled as she untangled herself from Sara's grip. Somehow, Ryder had managed to pin her against the door of the escape pod without even realizing it.

  
  


''Suvi wanted to see you,'' Peebee said. She gently turned Ryder toward the co-pilot's seat. Ryder started to walk toward Suvi's seat when Peebee suddenly slapped her ass, making her yelp in surprise. She turned to face her.

  
  


''After you're finished with Suvi, maybe we could go for a spin in the escape pod, for old time's sake?'' asked the asari in a flirty voice.

  
  


Sara blushed as she nodded in approval. She turned around and resumed her walk. A warm feeling grew inside of her, heating up her entire body as she made her way toward her science officer. Ryder felt like nothing could bother her, like all the kett in Andromeda couldn't touch her, as long as she and Peebee were together.

  
  


''Ryder, how are you doing?'' asked Suvi. The very first thing that anyone noticed when talking with Suvi, besides her good looks, was her lovely Scottish accent.

  
  


''I'm feeling as good as new, Suvi. So, what do you have for me?'' asked Ryder. Suvi began typing on her computer screen, and mysterious diagnostics and environmental reports appeared suddenly on her display. The scientist selected one significant document and enlarged it so that Ryder could look at it.

  
  


''What am I looking at, Suvi? All those readings are astonishing, but I have no idea what they mean,'' said Ryder.

  
  


''Those are the new readings from Khi Tasira, the Remnant city,'' Suvi answered. She brought the older geographical readings from their last visit to the city and compared them with the new ones.

  
  


''If you look close enough, you'll notice a thirty percent increase in Remnant activity in the city since our last visit,'' said Suvi.

 

''That's a lot!'' Sara said. She had to admit that an increase that high in Remnant activity was alarming.

  
  


''Last time I checked, the city was back to its dormant state. It means that someone or something has re-awakened the station, someone else than you or SAM,'' explained Suvi. Ryder's warm feeling of happiness dissolved instantly as understanding came to her. Whatever had activated the city could only mean bad news. If the kett had managed to create an AI capable of interacting with Remnant technology, it could mean the end of the Andromeda Initiative.

''We need to go investigate,'' Sara said. She announced to her crew through the Tempest's broadcasting system to suit up for combat.

* * *

  
  


''Are we sure about those readings, Ryder? The place looks deserted to me,'' Peebee asked through their comm-link. They had landed close to the city's central computer system, and so far they had yet to encounter any resistance whatsoever.

  
  


''Suvi is positive about them, and that's all I need,'' Sara answered. She almost tripped on a destroyed Remnant that was lying at her feet. Sara still felt uneasy in her thick armor; her still fragile ribs were beginning to hurt again, which significantly limited her mobility.

  
  


''Are you okay?'' asked Peebee when she saw Ryder limping to one side, her arms crossed over her stomach as if she was trying to keep her guts from bursting out.

  
  


The Pathfinder's eyes went suddenly wide as she stared at something behind Peebee. The asari spun around just in time to see a large kett materialize out of thin air in front of her. It was the biggest, meanest-looking kett that she had ever seen.

  
  


Peebee took a few steps back; her heart was racing, cold sweat ran down her forehead. Peebee grabbed her pistol and yanked it out of its holster. The kett kicked her square in the chest, sending her flying across the room. She landed hard at Ryder's feet, breathless and dizzy.

  
  


Sara grabbed the asari by the collar and dragged her behind a pillar. Ryder fired a few shots at the monster that was guarding the door to control room.

  
  


''Since when are those fuckers able to cloak like that?'' yelled Peebee over the gunfires.

  
  


''I don't know!'' said Sara, shaking her head in disbelief. To her right, she saw Vetra dive into cover behind another pillar, just in time to avoid a volley of bullets. That fight wasn't looking good for them, not if the enemy had the capability to disappear at will. It was impossible to know if there were more of them.

  
  


''He has shields!'' Vetra shouted. Ryder cursed aloud, wishing she had a rocket launcher right now. She threw a biotic warp at the monster, but the shield absorbed the power effortlessly.

  
  


''Ok, that's not good!'' Sara said. ''We need to do something fast, or we are history.''

  
  


''Pathfinder, there are high air pressure pipes located under the floor,'' said SAM through their comms. ''If we can overload them, it would create a...''

  
  


''We could make them explode on the kett! SAM, you're a genius.'' Sara ran to the computer, firing her M-3 Predator at the same time to try to weaken the enemy. Vetra and Peebee kept shooting at the kett, providing covering fire for Ryder.

  
  


Sara extended her free hand to let SAM transfer part of himself inside the terminal. Warning signs appeared on the screen while SAM hacked the system.

  
  


''Everybody, get down now!'' Sara screamed, running behind a pile of crates to shield herself from the imminent explosion.

  
  


A deafening explosion detonated under the kett's feet. Severed alien limbs flew in every direction. Blood and guts coated the smooth white walls in a gruesome display of horror. Smoke filled the room, blinding everyone's view. The chamber was in chaos, with flames dancing across the floor and walls, burning everything in their wake.

''Everyone okay?'' asked the Pathfinder. Her ears were ringing, and she could barely hear her voice. Luckily, her helmet came with a noise dampener which prevented its user from going deaf in a firefight. She shook her head, trying to shake away the dizziness. Her ribs were hurting; the shockwave had thrown her violently against a wall.

  
  


''We're all good,'' shouted Peebee from behind her hiding spot. ''Let's go see what that kett was trying to guard.'' The asari jumped to her feet and ran toward the door that leads to the city's central computer system.

* * *

  
  


''SAM, interface with the computer, we need to know what's going on here,'' said Ryder. This chamber was the most prominent room in the station. SAM activated the computer and began a search for relevant data. Information flashed on the screen too quickly for Ryder to make sense of them.

  
  


''I've found something. It's another message from the Jardaan,'' said SAM after a few minutes of searching. A written message appeared on the screen, and SAM began translating for them.

  
  


_''We have created this weapon as a final measure against the enemies of the Jardaan. I pray that it need never be used by anyone in this galaxy. We call it the Starkiller. It can destroy any life form in Heleus when charged at full power. We hid it in the darkest corner of the cluster; I hope that no one ever finds it, or the results will be catastrophic. If it falls into the wrong hands, the Heleus cluster is doomed.''_

  
  


Peebee and Sara looked at each other. If the kett had the location of this Remnant weapon, then the Initiative and everyone in Andromeda would be in serious trouble. Ryder rubbed her tired eyes; she was beginning to develop a headache.

  
  


''Pathfinder, with the information I have collected from the computers, I have discovered why the kett took you prisoner,'' announced SAM.

  
  


''Tell me!'' said Ryder impatiently. Her heart raced in her chest; her hands were sweaty and tired, her pistol suddenly felt heavy. _Finally some good news,_ she thought.

  
  


''I've found Remnants of an AI like me in the city's systems. Since the kett took blood samples from you, I concluded that they created a SAM duplicate to serve their own needs. With an AI they will be able to access any Remnant technology in Andromeda,'' said SAM.

  
  


''Shit, we have to find this weapon before the kett do. If they really have an evil version of SAM, then we're in big trouble,'' said Ryder. She opened her omni-tool and called Kallo.

  
  


''Tempest, this is Ryder. Ready the engines, we are finished here.'' She closed the connection without waiting for an answer and left the room with her squadmates on her heels. The situation had gone from bad to extreme, and once again, Sara Ryder was the only one who could stop these monsters.

  
  



	7. The AI conundrum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy N7 Day everybody :) Hope you enjoy this chapter XD

The ramp of the Tempest closed as the Pathfinder team settled inside. The small ship quivered when the engines came to life, and the floor trembled under Ryder's feet, almost causing her to fall. She cursed as she lost her footing and fell on Vetra. They both landed hard on the floor, dizzy and confused. Kallo had taken the ship into the air in the blink of an eye, escaping the Remnant city's orbital defenses before engaging the FTL drive.

 

Peebee extended a hand to Sara, yanking her back to her team. But as the asari began pulling the human, Kallo's evasive maneuvers made her lose her balance too. She fell on top of Ryder, and her forehead hit the Pathfinder's helmet visor.

 

''Ouch!''she yelled in surprise. The asari touched her brow, making sure that nothing was bleeding. Seeing no blood on her fingers, she looked down at Ryder and Vetra. Sara's helmet had protected her from Peebee's fall, and the only thing that was damaged for Vetra was her dignity.

 

''Damn it Kallo,'' screamed Vetra with all her strength, as if the Salarian pilot would miraculously hear her from the cockpit.

 

''That's going to leave a mark tomorrow,'' Peebee complained, gently patting her forehead again, looking for a lump.

 

''Not that I hate having you on top, but it's getting quite uncomfortable here,'' said Ryder. Not waiting for Peebee to move, she gently pushed the asari away from her.

 

Once Sara managed to untangle herself from Vetra's armor, she got to her feet and paced furiously around the garage. Feeling the need to break stuff, she yanked her helmet free from its straps, and threw it with on a pile of crates with all the strength she could muster. Her sudden outburst of anger made both Peebee and Vetra freeze in place. They both looked at each other, wondering if the moody human had re-injured herself in her fall.

Ryder punched the Nomad's door with a gloved fist, every muscle in her hand screamed in pain, but she ignored it and kept pummeling the door.

''Are you okay?'' asked Peebee, frowning at her with concern.

Sara was usually calm and reserved, an outburst like this was unlike anything that Vetra and Peebee had seen from the Pathfinder.

 

''It's all my fault!'' Sara punched the door one more time before crumbling to her knees. Tears appeared in her vision, and she began sobbing quietly. Her shoulders slumped, and her hands fell to her sides. Both her squadmates knelt next to her, but only Peebee brought a hand on her shoulders.

''What do you mean it's all your fault?'' asked Peebee. Her calm and soothing voice seemed to calm Ryder down. Peebee gestured with her head at the Turian, silently asking her to give them some privacy. When Vetra left the room, Peebee turned back to Ryder, who was now staring absently at the wall.

 

''Hey, talk to me, Sara.''Peebee began patting the pathfinder's right shoulder, while she wiped the human's tears from her cheeks with her other hand.

"If I hadn't gotten myself captured, those monsters wouldn't have been able to duplicate SAM, and we wouldn't be in this situation right now," said Ryder, sobbing quietly in Peebee's arms. ''It's all my fault!''

 

The asari hugged her tighter, ignoring the pain caused by Ryder's armor poking her midriff. Ryder buried her head deep in Peebee's chest, seeking comfort in her girlfriend's warm embrace.

''You surrendered to them to protect us remember?''said Peebee, hoping to soothe the Pathfinder. When Ryder didn't answer, Peebee smoothly pushed the human's head away from her chest, forcing Ryder to look at her. Tears made Ryder's blue eyes gleam back at Peebee.

 

"What if there had been another way?" asked Ryder. "All of this could have been avoided if I had chosen differently." Ryder buried her head back in Peebee's chest, trying to escape from all her problems.

 

"Listen to me, Ryder! You did the right thing, and I know that if you had to do it all over again, you would," murmured Peebee sympathetically. ''You should rest, you look exhausted.''

Sara wiped the remaining tears from her eyes with the back of her hand; beginning to feel sore and exhausted. She was indeed tired, and rest seemed like a great idea at the moment. But, with the threat of both the kett and the massive space weapon lurking somewhere in Andromeda, Ryder didn't know if she could manage to sleep at all. Finding the Starkiller before the kett had become her top priority, so sleep will have to wait.

 

''No, I have to come up with a plan to find the weapon before the kett. Besides, I slept six hundred years, so I think I'm good,'' said the Pathfinder.

 

Peebee got to her feet first and offered a hand to Sara, who gladly took it. This time, she managed to pull her to her feet without stumbling over.

 

''You won't be able to do anything in your current state,''protested the asari. Sara waved Peebee's worries away with a hand gesture and began walking toward the elevator.

 

"Plus, you don't have to do everything by yourself, you have the whole team and me behind you. We will always have your back, Sara."

 

"I like that you worry about my well-being, but trust me, I'm fine." Ryder pressed a button, and the elevator began ascending; its gears started screeching horribly as they went upward, causing Sara to grimace.

 

"Isn't Gill supposed to take care of maintenance around here?" asked Peebee. The asari covered her ears with both hands, trying to muffle the awful noise. "Looks like robbing us in poker is more important than taking care of the ship."

 

"I'll take care of it," answered Ryder with a heavy sigh. The elevator finally came to a stop on the second deck.

 

"I think I just became deaf in one ear!" exclaimed Peebee, rubbing her left ear

* * *

 

The stars outside the viewport illuminated the consoles of the galaxy map beautifully, bathing the bridge in a blue and white glow. Kallo was comfortably sitting in his seat, his hands resting on the ship's control yoke. Sara had been amazed many times at how resourceful the Salarian was under pressure. The fact that he could escape kett warships while flying through the scourge without losing his calm made him the best pilot she had ever met.

Suvi was drinking a hot mug of coffee while reading about AI cloning on her datapad. Ryder smiled at her science officer. Suvi's love in science and God made her an interesting person to chat with. The Scottish woman was always working at the best of her capabilities, always striving to find an answer to every problem.

 

The bridge was overly crowded with the rest of the Pathfinder team. All of them wore concerned looks on their faces; all were waiting for answers to their questions. Sara motioned for them to gather closer to her.

 

''Listen up team! The kett were able to create an evil version of SAM during my time as their prisoner.'' Ryder watched their faces as the news sank in. ''We all know that a powerful AI like SAM could be very dangerous in the wrong hands. We also know that those monsters want to use their SAM to take control of a weapon called The Starkiller. It can destroy any life form in Heleus, so finding it before the kett is our top priority.'' Sara knew that if the team worked together on this, they would find a way to locate the weapon and destroy it.

After Sara finished her speech, the team left the bridge to go work on the problem. Vetra and Drack would call their contacts for data collection, while Liam and Cora would ask Kandros to dispatch Apex to the darkest unexplored corners of Heleus. Jaal would tell Evfra to provide extra soldiers if need be. Peebee waited for everybody to leave before talking Ryder's hand.

 

''Do you have a minute?'' she asked, pulling Ryder toward the escape pod without waiting for an answer. Ryder chuckled as she imagined what Peebee had in mind.

 

''I have more than a minute," replied Sara in a soft voice. They made their way inside, and Peebee waited for the door to close shut behind them before saying anything. She was very serious, and Ryder realized that they weren't in the pod for some Zero-G work-out.

 

''What's wrong?'' she asked, concerned that the asari was about to announce that she had some incurable disease.

 

''Nothing! I'm fine,'' answered her girlfriend. Peebee made her way to her work table, where a small, well-rounded object rested on the corner of the table, next to some Remnant core. She picked it up with both hands, handling it with care as she handed it to Ryder. Sara watched the little green and black bracelet with curiosity.

 

''It's something I made shortly after you were gone,'' explained Peebee. She took Ryder's wrist and installed the bracelet on it. Its metal frame was cold and surprisingly light.

 

"I'm not used to your customs on Earth, but this trinket signifies the union of our hearts and minds. I don't know what humans call it?"

 

''Is that a marriage proposal?'' asked Ryder. She felt a warm feeling taking hold of her body as hope crept inside her. She hoped that it was what Peebee was trying to say, or she would feel stupid for bringing that subject to the table.

 

''Yeah, I guess it is! You know me, I'm not very good at this stuff,'' said Peebee, smiling awkwardly at Ryder, trying to discern whether she was pleased or not by her proposal. ''But if you don't want it because it's not your thing, I'm totally cool with it,'' she added quickly before Sara had the chance to answer.

 

''It's...It's perfect Peebs.'' Sara closed the gap between the two of them and embraced her fiancée in her arms. Hot tears of joy ran on their cheeks as they hugged and kissed passionately for a long moment. Sara enjoyed the proximity of their bodies, the feel of Peebee's heart beating against her chest, and her warm breath on her skin.

 

''I know it isn't the best time to ask, but I couldn't wait any longer. I made it when you were gone; I had to keep myself busy while searching for you.'' Peebee said. As she touched the bracelet on Sara's wrist, Peebee seemed to be recalling all the pain she had felt when making the small object. Because of it, Sara will always have a reminder of Peebee on her, a reminder of their love for each other.

 

''All right, we should get back to work, we have some alien ass to kick!'' said Peebee, hugging Ryder one more time before leaving her workshop. They headed back to the bridge to check if Suvi had found a way to locate the weapon.

* * *

 

After spending hours of brain-wracking work with Suvi and other scientists on the Nexus, Sara had been ordered by Lexi to retire to her quarters for a nap and a quick shower.

Feeling refreshed, she exited her bathroom, put some casual clothes on and went to sit on her couch to rest her tired legs.

Ryder made some circling movements with her left hand, admiring Peebee's latest creation for her. She loved the idea of a bracelet that represented how much Peebee loved her. Ryder was confident that Kalinda never had one, not even after all her time with Peebee.

She passed a finger on its smooth surface, bumping over a small button on one of its sides. The whole thing gleamed green and an annoying, ear-splitting alarm erupted from tiny speakers that Ryder had no idea were there.

 

''What the hell!'' She tried to take it off but it wouldn't move from her wrist. Sara was about to go ask Peebee to come and take a look at it but decided to stay in her quarters, as she remembered that the entire crew was sleeping. She tried to pull harder and harder until her knuckles went white.

 

The door of her room opened, and Peebee came rushing inside, stopping in her tracks when she saw that Ryder was sitting alone on her couch. Her lips formed into a smirk, and she erupted in laughter when she realized what had caused the alarm to trigger. Sara gaped at her, irritated by both the bracelet and her fiancée's reaction.

 

"Don't just stand there, come and fix your tech before I go deaf," ordered Ryder, apparently not amused by the events.

 

"Relax, it's not broken or anything. It's the opposite, it only proves that my little safeguard is working perfectly," explained the asari. Peebee pressed the same button that Sara had accidentally pressed and held it for three seconds. When she released it, the terrible alarm faded, and silence came back inside the small room.

 

Ryder slumped back in her seat with a heavy sigh, rubbing her ears annoyingly with her index fingers.

''What the hell was that?'' she asked when Peebee sat next to her on the couch. The asari looked at her with an amused look on her face.

''It's a little insurance in case you get captured again.'' Peebee pointed at the button on the left side of the bracelet. "I equipped your gift with a tracking device. Whenever you get in trouble, you press it, and it will send a distress signal to my omni-tool. Once the alarm goes on, the bracelet creates an energy field that prevents anyone from taking it off your wrist." she took Ryder's hands in hers before adding-

''That way, I will always know where you are in the entire cluster.''

 

Sara looked at Peebee, then at the tech on her wrist, amazed at her lover's genius. Peebee always knew how to make her feel protected and at home. Without her, Ryder didn't know if she would be able to do the whole Pathfinder job as efficiently.

 

''Wait. You said tracking?'' asked Ryder, her eyes widening when an idea came to her. ''That's it! Peebs, you're a genius!'' She hurried to her feet and ran toward the door.

 

''You're damn right I'm a genius!'' Peebee also got to her feet and followed Ryder, running to catch up with her.

 

''But, what do you have in mind Ryder?'' asked the asari. She was curious to learn what idea the Pathfinder had come up with.

* * *

 

 

Sara waited for everyone to assemble in the meeting room before she began explaining her idea to the crew. Kallo had left the Tempest in the competent care of SAM since the ship's autopilot wasn't working as well as it should. The Salarian had told Sara that the small ship had taken damage while fleeing a kett patrol a few months ago.

 

“Why the emergency meeting Ryder?” asked Cora. The whole team looked at Ryder; their eyes were burning with questions and hope. They all looked up at her, and Sara knew it. She felt the pressure of their expectations every day of her life. The burden of having to make the hard choices for the future of every soul in Andromeda would have driven her crazy a long time ago if it weren't for Peebee and her team's faith in her. They were the Pathfinder's pillar, the people she could rely on for every mission, the people she called family.

 

“Thanks to Peebee, I might have a way to track down the kett,” announced Ryder. “Since it is a clone of SAM, I think that our SAM might be able to locate it.”

 

Suvi immediately took a datapad from the main table and entered commands on it. Curious, Ryder moved next to her science officer and looked at the datapad.

 

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I picked up a faint signal that I couldn't identify earlier,” answered the young woman. “But now, I suspect that it might be the other SAM.”

 

“Suvi is right,” confirmed SAM in his usual voice. “ I can track my clone the same way I can track every other SAM units in the Initiative.”

 

Suvi plugged the datapad into the giant conference table, letting SAM take control of it. The holotable powered up as the AI began its search. An overview of the entire Heleus cluster appeared in the air as SAM scanned the explored planets and stars, trying to pinpoint the location of the kett AI. Aya suddenly light up in red. Ryder hoped that it wasn't the Kett's next target, those poor Angara had already endured so much and didn't need an invasion. _Why would they invade Aya?_ Sara wondered. _The weapon isn't there, and the vault didn't have any information on its whereabouts._

 

“The AI is on Aya, Pathfinder,” said SAM, confirming what Ryder had feared.

Jaal jumped from his seat to study the hologram. His eyes were filled with anger as he surveyed the small, blue representation of his beloved world.

 

“We have to go there, NOW!” impatiently said the Angara. He was about to turn when Ryder brought a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

 

“We are, don't worry,” Sara assured him. She didn't know what the kett expected to find on Aya, but they sure as hell won't leave the planet alive. She will do whatever it takes to keep those monsters away from the Angara.

 

“We will find what the kett are doing there, and we will put an end to this!” Sara slammed a fist on the large table, looking at her crew as she did so. She saw the determination in their eyes, they were all burning with the same anger for the kett, all were itching for a fight with their mortal enemy.

 

When the crew left, Peebee calmly approached Ryder from the side. Sara's gaze locked with hers and they both smiled at each other.

“Do you believe that we can stop them this time?” asked Sara, keeping her voice down so that only Peebee could hear her. The asari took Sara by the waist, pulling her closer to her. She brought her mouth closer to Ryder's ear.

 

''With you, I believe that we stand more than a chance against those bastards,” murmured Peebee. Sara brought her hands on Peebee's shoulders and kissed her for a long moment before answering-

“Thanks, Peebs, for everything.” Ryder lifted her lover in her arms, pinning her against the table while she kissed her on the neck.

“Since we won't arrive at Aya until tomorrow, do you think that we could continue this somewhere more private?” asked Peebee, breathless and aroused from Ryder's touch on her body.

 

“Absolutely!” answered the Pathfinder, leaving the room with Peebee in her arms.

That night, they will sleep together and enjoy each others warmth and love, before stopping the kett from destroying the cluster the next day. Ryder will make that night, the best one Peebee ever had.

 


	8. Not What You Expected

The Tempest arrived above Aya; its sublight engines ignited as Kallo brought the little ship closer to the planet. The sun reflected on the ship's hull, bathing it in a yellow and red glow. The lack of Kett ships around the Angaran world was alarming, Sara had expected to encounter at least one war vessel. Instead, there were only the stars and the planet to greet them.

 

“That's weird,” she said out loud. “They usually come guns blazing.”

 

Suvi ran some calculations on her computer, making sure that the signal was still in this sector of Andromeda. _I can't shake the feeling that we are about to walk into a trap_ , thought Sara.

 

“SAM, are we positive that we are at the right place?” she asked her AI. SAM had never been wrong before, but maybe after being probed by kett technology, there could be a slight chance that it had damaged her trusty AI.

 

“Positive Pathfinder, the AI is here, and it is being used as we speak,” answered SAM.

 

“I didn't know you could sense when your clone is being used?” There were a lot of things she still didn't understand about AI functionality, she knew, but after spending almost a year with SAM, she had no idea he could do that.

 

Kallo announced that they would enter the atmosphere of Aya in ten minutes, nodding at Sara before turning back to his station. Ryder decided to spend the remaining time with Peebee in her workshop. She remembered that she had not yet replaced the missing escape pod.

 

“SAM, remind me to ask for a new pod next time we land at the Nexus,” she asked. Not waiting for an answer, she made her way into the small chamber that had served as her fiancée's room for months, before they decided to move forward in their relationship.

 

Sara thought of all the time she had sneaked into the room just to hang out with Peebee. Before the asari had asked her to be more than her friend, Sara would always find an excuse just to be with her, asking Peebee for upgrades on her Remnant bot or asking about her new projects. She did her best to enjoy the time she spent with her, trying not to think about that aching feeling in her heart each time she left the room.

 

Now, she didn't have to do that anymore. No more sneaking at night when everybody was sleeping, no more hiding in the darkest corners of the ship to exchange kisses with Peebee.

* * *

 

 

After a long hour spent with her lover, Sara got called back to the bridge by Kallo to answer an incoming call from Aya. With Peebee next to her, Sara answered the call with her omni-tool.

 

“Ryder here,” she said, hoping that the caller didn't have bad news to report.

 

“Hey sis!” answered a familiar voice. Sara's heart raced in her chest as she realized who the caller was.

 

“Scott! What are you doing here?” she asked, a smile plastered on her face. The idea that she and Scott will reunite after many months filled her heart with joy.

 

“Well, since you were gone, someone had to do your job. Apex teams have detected an increase in Kett activities near Aya, so I went to investigate,” he paused to talk to someone else, Sara heard alarms and shouts in the background.

 

“Scott, what's going on?” she asked, trying her best not to let anxiety take the best of her. She heard static noise in the comms before Scott's voice came back.

 

“Sara, you better get down here, we got a problem!” said Scott in a hurry.

 

“What kind of problem?” asked the Pathfinder. Her brother wasn't the type to lose his cool, to hear the stress in his voice worried Sara quite a bit.

 

“I'll brief you once you get down here, but I got to go, meet you on the landing pad.” the comm went dead after that. Sara turned to her pilot and made a hand signal that told him to hurry.

* * *

 

 

The Tempest finally settled on the primary landing pad of the Angaran city, its ramp slowly opening. Flanked by Peebee and Cora, the Pathfinder made her way down the ramp. The trio walked past a couple of guards who let them inside the city. On the other side of the big heavy metal door, Scott was sitting on a bench; his hands crossed over his chest. At the sight of his twin sister, he stood up, waited for Sara to close the gap between them, and hugged her when she was close enough.

 

“I'm so happy to see you, Scott!” Sara said, hugging her brother tightly in her arms. She was glad to see him, to know that he was okay and in good health.

 

“Me too sis! I thought you were dead.”

 

“You won't get rid of me that easily,” joked Sara, giving her brother a light nudge in the ribs.

 

The four of them began walking, Scott lead them to the resistance headquarters. Evfra and the Moshae were waiting for them inside, studying images and recordings on the large console in the middle of the room. Other Angara soldiers were running in all directions, shouting orders at their subordinates.

 

“Ryder, it is good to see you are well!” said Moshae Sjefa. Next, to her, Evfra gave Sara a small nod before redirecting his attention to the console's display.

 

“What's the situation here?” asked the Pathfinder. She was glad to see all of them, but time wasn't on their side.

 

“Four of our greatest scientists are being kidnaped as we speak. A small Kett strike team infiltrated our defenses and are now abducting our people,” briefed Evfra. His eyes were filled with pain and hatred; his people had already suffered enough at the hand of the Kett.

 

“We don't know why they are taking our scientists, but we have to find and rescue them,” said the Moshae.

 

“I think I know why they are kidnaping your people Moshae,” answered Sara. They all looked at her in surprise.

“The Kett have discovered a powerful weapon hidden in Andromeda. It can destroy every life in the cluster. My guess is, they need your scientists to make the weapon work,” explained the Pathfinder.

 

Evfra and Moshae Sjefa looked at each other; their faces wore surprised expressions. They began conversing together, turning their backs to Ryder and her team.

 

“You might be right Ryder,” said Evfra after a long moment. “The scientists that were captured are specialists in advanced weaponry and ship mechanic.”

 

“Where did the Kett land?” asked Sara.

 

“They landed on the North-East landing platform, their ship is still there,” said Evfra. He signaled to two of his soldiers to come forward.

 

“You two will escort the Pathfinder and her team to the platform. You are to keep them safe, understood?” They both nodded in understanding.

 

“Don't worry Moshae, we will return your people safe and sound,” Sara said, trying to reassure the worried woman.

 

Sara and her escort left the room, Scott trailing behind them. Sara hoped that they would get there in time to save the scientists and capture the rogue AI.

* * *

 

Ryder wasn't sure if the lack of Kett presence in the city was a good or bad thing. Evfra had said that it was a small strike team, but they haven't seen any of them yet. Peebee, who was walking next to her, seemed as puzzled as she was.

 

“Why does it feels like we are walking into a trap?” asked Peebee. Her hand moved closer to her holstered weapon on her right leg.

 

“I was thinking the same thing. Just stay sharp, I have a terrible bad feeling about this,” answered the Pathfinder, holding her M-8 Avenger closer to her chest. “How much further before we reach the platform?” she asked the guards.

 

“We're here,” answered the tallest of the two.

 

They turned a corner and crossed a small bridge that led to the landing pad. There it was, a small Kett ship, docked on the platform. The vessel strangely resembled the Tempest, it had long flat wings, a dorsal ramp, and was armed with heavy cannons at the end of each wing. Ryder spotted the scientists near the ramp, they were shackled and wore restraining collars around their necks.

 

“Hey, hold it right there and drop your weapon,” yelled Ryder at the Kett commander. The soldier was different from the other Kett she had fought, he was smaller and was wearing a strange helmet. He dropped his weapon to the ground and slowly turned to face Ryder's group.

 

“Something is not right! He can't be the only Kett around, where are the others?” asked Cora. She and Scott were guarding the rear.

 

The Kett soldier slowly took off his helmet, revealing a young human woman with long brown hair and crimson eyes underneath. Ryder's mouth opened as she gaped at her enemy.

 

“What the fuck!” said Sara, she froze, unable to move in her stupor. She was staring at a replica of her, a clone that perfectly looked just like her except for its red eyes.

 

Peebee, Cora, and Scott all stared at the clone, they were as baffled as Sara was. One of the two Angara fired his weapon at the clone, but it quickly dodged the lasers and, using its twin pistols, killed both guards in the blink of an eye.

 

Sara launched herself at her clone, discharging her weapon as she ran toward it. The clone threw a high kick at Sara, shoving the M-8 Avenger out of her hands. Ryder threw a punch at her foe; it landed hard on her opponent's cheek. The clone staggered backward, grasping Sara's arm to prevent itself from falling. When she stabilized herself, the clone broke Ryder's nose with a vicious right hook; blood spilled from her nose as Sara tried to regain her balance. Ryder felt a boot land on her face, breaking a few teeth in her mouth. She fell hard on the ground, dazed and confused.

 

The clone threw biotics at Sara's teammates, sending them stumbling in all directions before they could even fire a single shot. Sara blinked, her vision was blurred, her breathing uneasy. The clone walked calmly toward Sara, its green armor shining in the sun, temporarily blinding the Pathfinder. The fight had taken only a few seconds.

 

“I could kill you right now, but that is not why I came here for. The Grand Master wants you to suffer before he allows you to die,” said evil Ryder, her red eyes glared at Sara, giving her a menacing look. Ryder saw a small blade appear in the clone's left hand.

 

“But, I will leave you a parting gift, just in case you forget about me,” said the clone as it thrust the blade in Sara's stomach, piercing easily through her armor. Sara screamed as the blade passed through her body. She coughed blood on the ground. Darkness threatened to take hold of her, as her vision darkened around the edges. She saw the clone leave. For the first time, Ryder felt powerless, as she watched the Kett ship disappear through the clouds. She had failed, the scientists were now prisoners, and she couldn't do a thing about it.

 

“Shit! Sara! Fuck...Fuck!” screamed Peebee. She knelt next to Ryder and applied pressure on the wound; there was blood all around them. “Contact Lexi; we have to get Sara out of here!”

 


	9. The Unexpected

_Ryder was far back in time. A long gone memory, a time where all her family members were alive, a time where she didn't have any responsibilities. She was playing in a cornfield with her brother back on Earth, many years ago, when they were only kids._

_“Catch me if you can Sara!” teased Scott, stealing Sara's toy before fleeing in the field. He knew that she couldn't resist the urge to chase him, the toy he held in his hand was her favorite, a stuff Turian their mother had given her for her sixth birthday._

_“Scott give it back!” she ordered, running after him. As she chased her brother, the long grass whipped her face, obstructing her view. They were not supposed to play in the field; their father had told them they could get lost in it if they were not careful enough._

_In her haste, Sara did not see the large hole in the middle of the field; she ran right into it. She landed hard on the ground, cutting her elbows as she rolled on a branch._

_“Scott! Scott where are you, I need help!” she screamed. It was getting dark and cold outside, and she didn't want to be stuck in this hole all night._

_Hours passed by before she finally heard footsteps above her. The temperature had dropped below freezing, and Sara had only her small jacket that didn't do much to protect her in this weather. She heard her father calling her name repeatedly from afar._

_“Daddy, I'm down here!” she yelled with all her breath. The footsteps grew closer and closer until Sara could see her father's silhouette standing above the hole._

_“There you are!” said Alec Ryder. He knelt and extended a hand to her, a stern look in his eyes told her that he wasn't happy with her and Scott._

_“What did I say about running and playing in the field?” asked her father, his tone sharp._

_“Not to go there alone because we could get lost in it, I know dad,” answered Sara, keeping her eyes to the ground. Alec took her in his arms and began walking out of the field._

_“I'm sorry dad, I just wanted my toy back, and I didn't see the big hole.” Alec glanced at the bruises on her elbows. His wife will not be happy about that, he thought._

_“In life, you will fall in dark holes just like this one, with no one else but yourself, but you will have to pick yourself back up again and keep fighting. Do you understand?” asked her father._

_Sara nodded, even if she wasn't sure what Alec meant, but she didn't want to disappoint her father a second time._

_“Always keep fighting, Sara, never forget that!”_

* * *

 

 

“Always keep fighting,” murmured Ryder in a soft voice, her eyes slowly opening as she regained consciousness.

 

Lexi came to her side, touched her forehead with the back of her hand, making sure that Sara didn't have any fever.  Next to Lexi stood a worried Peebee, her arms crossed over her chest.

 

“Hey Ryder, you gave us quite a scare!” said the doctor. Lexi lifted the human's shirt, checking if the bandage was holding correctly. It was already stained with blood, so she took it off and began making another one, applying omni-gel to the wound.

 

“What were you saying earlier?” asked Lexi, making small talk to distract Ryder while she worked on her wound.

 

“That's just something my father had told me once when I was just a kid. Stuck with me ever since” answered Ryder. She gave Peebee a warm smile, showing her that she was okay.

 

“You will be able to leave my med bay, but you are confined to your quarters for at least a few days,” ordered Lexi.

 

“Again! Boredom is gonna kill me and not the Kett!” protested Ryder. She hated being confined to her room when there was so much at stake.

 

Peebee and Lexi helped her to her feet, the two of them supporting her from both sides. Lexi turned her head to face Ryder.

 

“Keep running toward danger, and you will be responsible for your own death Ryder,” said the doctor. Peebee opened the door of the Pathfinder's room, helped Lexi carry Ryder inside and gently settled the human on the bed. “Your brother wanted to see you, should I tell him you are awake?” asked Lexi. Sara nodded and watched as the doctor left the room.

 

“How are you holding up?” Sara asked Peebee. The asari took a glass of water from the nightstand and took a seat on the bed next to Ryder.

 

“Me? I'm great, why wouldn't I be? I'm not the one who got stabbed again!” answered Peebee a bit sarcastically, taking a sip of water before lying on her back, resting her head on the cushy pillow.

 

Ryder heard some anger in her lover's tone, but as she was about to respond, she heard the door hissing open as Scott stepped into the room, a worried look in his eyes. Sara noticed dark circles under his eyes; clearly, her brother hadn't had a lot of sleep lately.

 

“How are you doing?” he asked, sitting at the edge of the bed.

 

“I'm fine, just a little banged up that's all.” She was okay, the injury wasn't as severe as it looked, but it was her ego that took got hurt the most. Sara could not believe that the Kett had been able to clone her so perfectly. How could she defeat them now, she never had to face a greater enemy than herself? How could she face someone who knew all her moves and tricks?

 

“I'm glad to hear it sis!” he said while yawning. He rubbed his tired eyes with two fingers, fighting against a headache.Sara glanced at the clock on her nightstand; it was two o'clock in the morning.

 

“You should go catch some sleep Scott,” she said. He nodded, carefully hugged his sister and left the room. Sara waited for the door to close before turning back to Peebee, who was now reading something on her datapad.

 

“What's up Peebee?” she asked, staring at the asari.

 

“Nothing!” answered Peebee, refusing to move her gaze away from her reading.

 

“C'mon, you think I don't know when you're not honest with me? Did I do something wrong?”

 

Peebee finally let go of the datapad, she rubbed her eyes before turning to face the Pathfinder. Her eyes were a little bit red and had dark circles under them, a sign that she had cried a lot while Ryder was out.

 

“I'm tired of seeing you like this!” she said in an agitated voice; pointing at the bandage on Sara's stomach. “Every time we go on a mission, I always wonder if you're gonna make it alive or not!”

 

Sara moved closer to Peebee; she took the asari’s head in her hands and looked into her hazel eyes. Peebee had a point though, Ryder was getting tired of getting hurt. Her heart sank when she saw the panic look in her lover’s eyes.

 

“I’m not going anywhere, I promise!” she lied, working hard to keep her voice calm and steady. The truth was that she couldn’t promise she won’t perish during a mission, but she needed to reassure Peebee, so she lied.

 

Peebee moved away from Ryder’s grip, rolling to her right on the bed. Her back turned to Ryder; she allowed fresh tears to fall down her cheeks.

 

“You can’t promise that Ryder!” she said in a weak voice. She rolled back to her other side to face Ryder.

 

“I know that I will eventually lose you because I can outlive any humans on this ship. But I’m not ready to live alone, Ryder!”

 

 _I never thought that we would have this talk so early in our relationship,_ thought Sara. Her mind was trying to come up with an answer, but she couldn’t think of anything.

 

“Then I’ll work harder to make sure you won’t have to!”

 

 They both stared at each other for a long time, the glow of the stars outside the viewport reflected on their faces. The asari finally gave a small nod of her head and used the back of her hand to wipe the hot tears from her cheeks.

 

“ _Sorry if I’m interrupting anything Pathfinder, but we have the location of the tracker you slipt on your clone!”_ said SAM, breaking the silence.

 

Peebee’s head turned to Ryder in a heartbeat, surprised to learn that they had a way to find those Kett bastards. _Now it’s our turn to make them pay,_ she mentally told herself.

 

“When did you have the time to place a tracking device on her?” Peebee asked.

Ryder pointed to her bandages and smiled. Peebee grimaced, unsure of what the human was trying to tell her.

 

“I placed one when my clone stabbed me in the guts. Her left leg protector had cracked during the combat, so I inserted the tracker in the small gap,” Sara explained. “I knew that using the same trick to locate the clone wouldn’t work twice, so I came up with a new one.”

 

“You’re just full of surprises, Sara!” answered Peebee, impressed by Ryder’s ingenuity. “So, where are the Kett now?”

 

Sara turned to the nightstand and tried to reach for her datapad lying in the middle of it. A jab of pain surprised her, and she yelped. She clutched her stomach with both hands and took some deep breaths, trying to make the pain go away.

 

“Damn it, Ryder! You're going to reopen your stitches!” Peebee reprimanded. She got up and moved to retrieve the datapad for Ryder.

 

“Thanks, babe!” Ryder took the datapad from Peebee and flicked the power switch on.

“SAM, display the signal of the beacon to my screen please.”

 

“ _Just a moment Pathfinder,”_ answered the AI.

 

A few seconds later, a mini representation of the Andromeda galaxy map appeared on Sara’s screen. One system blinked in red. Sara frowned as she realized where the signal emanated from.

 

“What’s wrong?” asked Peebee when she saw Ryder’s face.

 

“I can’t believe it! I know where the battle station is.” Ryder angled the datapad to the right so that Peebee could take a look at the screen. “It was under our noses the entire time!”

 

* * *

 

 

“Wait! What do you mean the Kett have been hiding right under our noses the whole tie?” asked Cora with a frown. Since Ryder was too banged up to leave her room, she had ordered the team to join she and Peebee in her quarters for a briefing on the current situation.

 

“Do you all remember the weird cloud of rock floating where the Initiative parked the Nexus?” Ryder asked.

 

Cora was still confused by what Ryder was trying to say. Yes, she remembered the weird looking cloud but, what did that had to do with everything?

 

“I’ve asked Suvi and SAM to run analyses on the older samples our probes had taken many months ago. The results came in a few moments ago, and the rocks around the cloud are artificial!” explained an enthusiastic Ryder.

 

“So?” asked Cora, still unsure of where Ryder was going with this.

 

“My theory is that the Jardaans installed some device that generates artificial clouds of debris around their mysterious station,” said Ryder with a smile on her face. She was enjoying the moment, talking about science always lighten her mood. She turned to the small table next to her, took the glass of water and drank all in one gulp before continuing her briefing.

 

“Think about it! Every time the Tempest approached the anomaly; our communications always get scrambled."

 

“Which makes sense, considering the Jardaans wanted to keep the station a secret,” said Suvi.

 

 “Ha, nerds!” laughed Drack. He used his big hand to nudge Suvi’s shoulder.

 

Liam whistled at Ryder, impressed by that significant discovery. He shoved his way past the others to stand next to Ryder’s spot, a question in mind.

 

“But, there is one thing that bothers me. We could see in the middle of the cloud, so why did we never see any station in it?” asked Liam.

 

Peebee rolled her eyes in her head, exasperated by Liam’s ignorance. The man was irritatingly oblivious to any scientific matters.

 

“It’s simple; you just have to think a little, Liam! The Jardaans must have integrated the same type of photo cloaking force field that the observers use,” explained Peebee, winking arrogantly at Liam. Kosta gave her a smug smile and retreated at the back of the room next to the grumpy old krogan.

 

Lexi, who had decided to assist the group meeting, shook her head as she made her way toward the Pathfinder. Her datapad in hands, she examined Sara’s bandage from the edge of the bed.

 

“I hope you weren’t expecting to go back to the Nexus for a while Ryder?” asked the doctor.

 

“How long until I’m ready to go back to the field Lexi?” asked Ryder impatiently.

 

Lexi wrote a few notes in her datapad, adding more data to Ryder’s already extensive medical reports. _She really should stop getting hurt,_ she thought to herself.

 

“Ryder, your body needs time to rest and recuperate. You already suffered extensive injuries to your left shoulder and stomach.”

 

“But…”

“Let me explain this to you. If you continue like this, you could aggravate old injuries, and you could die!” Lexi exclaimed.

 

Ryder digested what Lexi just told her, and she felt Peebee stiffen next to her. _Shit, Lexi!_ She had just convinced Peebee that she would be all right, and now she will have to calm her fiancée all over again because of Lexi.

 

“The trip to the Nexus will take us three standard days to get there,” announced Kallo.

 

"If you want so badly to go back out there, then three days of rest should do!" Said Lexi unwillingly. She stormed out of the room before Ryder could say anything.

 

_I don’t know why she’s so pissed off? It’s not like I’m getting hurt on purpose. I better talk to her later._

 

“All right, we all know what we have to do. Dismissed!” Ryder waved her hand toward the door, gesturing to her crew to leave the room; the meeting now adjourned.

 

Sara waited for until she and Peebee were alone in the room before letting go of a long sigh. Her shoulders slumped, and she allowed herself to fall back on the comfortable mattress. It was warm and very cozy, and Sara suddenly felt exhausted. Her neck was crisped, and her shoulders ached like hell, but she refused to take her pills for the pain. Ryder was slowly drifting to sleep when Peebee began talking to her, causing Sara to wake up in a start.

 

“Are you sure that you will be capable of moving normally in only three days?” asked the asari, eyeing the bandage on Sara’s tummy.

 

“I’ll have to be! I’m the only one who can stop the Kett from wiping us out.”

 

She moved closer to Peebee, clutching her blue hands in her own; their warm fingers tangled together. Soft music from a playlist that Ryder had made before leaving the Milky Way was playing on the radio.

 

“Listen, I meant what I said earlier okay!” said Sara in a soft voice. “I’m gonna be more careful this time.”

 

“It’s not just that Sara.” The asari untangled her hands from Ryder’s and turned to face the opposite wall.

 

“I know that it’s not the best time to tell that, but you should know in case things don’t go as planned.”

 

“You need to tell me what?” asked Ryder, feeling a little worried. “What has you so worked up that you can’t even look at me?”

 

Peebee slowly turned her head to look at the human, and Sara could see tears in her eyes. She also noticed that the asari had gained a little bit of weight.

 

“I… I'm pregnant Sara!” Peebee finally declared.

 

Ryder’s eyes widened in surprise, and she began to feel slightly light-headed. Her brain refused to accept what her ears had just heard, and Sara let go of the breath she had been holding for seconds.

 

_Pregnant? I’m going to be a mom! I can’t be a mom right now, not with everything happening around me, around us!_

 

The revelation left Ryder with dozens of questions. She was thrilled and scared at the same time; she was also unsure of how she could raise a child in these challenging times. _That explains why Peebee was so mad earlier!_

 

“Pregnant? Since when?” she quickly asked Peebee.

 

“Since we had sex after we found you a month ago,” answered the asari. Peebee touched her small belly, stroking it gently with her hand.

Peebee had managed to hide her pregnancy from Ryder, hiding in the bathroom when she felt sick. Lexi had been the only one to know that she and Ryder were expecting a baby. At first, Peebee was scared and almost asked the doctor for an abortion. What had stopped her from doing so, was the fact that the baby was also Ryder’s.

 

Sara’s face was a mix of so many emotions that Peebee couldn’t know if the human was happy or not. She knew that her timing was terrible, but she could never forgive herself if Ryder dies on her next mission and she had never told her about the baby.

 

“That’s great Peebs!” exclaimed Ryder after a long awkward moment of silence.

 

“Really?” asked Peebee, surprised by Sara’s reaction.

 

She had thought that the Pathfinder would be angry at her for waiting so long to tell her. Sara’s blue eyes gleamed with joy and her broad smile made the asari happy. She sight in relief, glad that Ryder had taken the news so well.

 

Ryder brought a hand on Peebee’s belly, carefully caressing the blue skin with her fingers as she kissed the asari on the cheek.

 

“We’ll just have to figure a way to raise a kid in Andromeda,” Sara told Peebee.

 

“After you destroy the space station, we could settle down somewhere,” proposed Peebee. She didn't want to settle down because it would mean the end of her current way of life. But if they were to raise a kid, Peebee would have to make some changes for the well-being of the child.

 

“But, what if Heleus still needs a Pathfinder?” asked Ryder.

 

“Scott has almost completed his Pathfinder training; he could take your place if he wants to,” Peebee answered.

 

Sara nodded slightly, and she turned her attention back to Peebee’s belly. Being a mother was something she had never planned, not since she had discovered that she was attracted to women. The way that the asari reproduce with other species was still hard for Ryder to understand, but she couldn't care less about that right now. _I can’t believe I’m going to be a mother._


	10. The Final Showdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter guys, thanks for all the support and love you gave me and I hope you enjoy this one.

The Tempest arrived at its destination in the Zheng He system in a hurry. The mysterious cloud of rocks had already begun moving and was now floating dangerously close to the Nexus. A few synthetic stones drifted toward the lower part of the Nexus, the station’s shields absorbed the projectiles easily, sending them careening away into the void of space.

Onboard the Tempest, the Pathfinder team was making final preparations for the mission, making sure that all their weapons had enough ammo for the upcoming battle. Peebee was making some adjustments to Zap, the combat Remnant bot she had made for Ryder a year ago.

The asari got startled when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, and she turned around to face a worried looking Ryder. Peebee had a bad feeling about the mission-or maybe it was just the hormones talking-, but she refused to let her doubts show on her face.

“What are you doing?” asked the Pathfinder.

Peebee pointed at the tools scattered on the floor, and at the bot lying on the worktable. Poc made a series of sounds as she helped Peebee with Zap’s maintenance, power tool clenched in her mandibles.

“I’m tweaking your Remnant terror bot, silly,” Peebee said with a laugh.

“I know that! I meant, why do you have your gun with you?” clarified Ryder. “You’re not going on the field for this mission!”

Peebee blinked in surprise; she had never been kept away from a mission just because it was dangerous before. Yes, she was carrying a child in her womb, but it didn't mean that Ryder had to make all the decisions for her. Besides, the asari couldn’t remember the last time she got injured during a fight, that was Ryder’s specialty, not her’s.

“You need me out there Sara!” she protested.

“I know, but I won’t endanger your life and the one of the baby’s,” answered Ryder.

Peebee didn’t want to be left aside; she didn’t want to let Sara out of her sight, and she knew that it was selfish of her to think like that. _She needs me out there;_ her mind kept telling her.

“If you come along, I will constantly be worried about the both of you!” Sara added.

“All right! I’ll stay in the Tempest!” Peebee said reluctantly, raising both hands in defeat. “But, under one condition.”

“What is it, Peebs?”

“In the future, I’ll be the one deciding if I want to put my life in danger!” she said.

Sara nodded, a small smile in the corner of her mouth. With Peebee out of danger, Ryder will be able to concentrate fully on the task at hand, and she sure as hell would need all the focus she had if she wanted to succeed.

 

After talking with Peebee, Ryder had stopped by the medical bay to have a chat with the ship’s resident doctor. Lexi had told her to be more careful this time around, that she had more to lose than ever before, which Ryder knew already. That simple fact weighed heavily on her shoulders, and for the first time since she arrived in this new galaxy, she was worried about her fate and the impact that her death could have on Peebee’s life and the one of her child.

“Thank you, Lexi, for everything,” she had told the doctor before she left the bay.

Now more than ever, she had more to lose on this mission. It gave her extra motivation to come back to her lover safely. After this mission, Sara promised herself that she and Peebee would settle down on one of their outposts and start a family together.

 

* * *

 

Kallo expertly dodged the floating debris and brought the Tempest inside the massive hangar bay of the Remnant battle station. The ship’s ramp extended itself when the landing gears settled down on the hangar floor. Before exiting the vessel, Ryder turned to face her team who were all assembled in the garage room; she saw hardened and determined expressions on their faces, and she knew they were ready.

“Cora, Jaal, and Liam, you go find the Angara prisoners and bring them back here!” ordered Ryder. She turned to look at Drack, “Drack, you stay here to protect the ship from intruders.”

The bulky Krogan nodded and began installing defenses around the Tempest. Without Peebee on the field, Sara would have no one by her side. She will be on her own, but at least she will have SAM. Her objective was to find the station’s bridge and prevent the Kett from destroying Heleus.

“We all know what to do, and I don’t think that I need to remind any of you that time isn’t on our side. We will have to act quickly and swiftly!”

Sara inhaled a deep breath of cold air, calming her thoughts and trying to convince herself that the team would make it out alive. She was putting the lives of her entire team at risk, and if one of them were to be critically injured or worst, die because of her decisions, she could never forgive herself.

 

The inside of the station was gigantic; the pristine white walls made the ship look new, but Ryder suspected that it had to be at least six hundred years old. The Jardaans knew how to make their creations last a very long time.

On her way to the bridge, Sara had had to dodge at least two Kett patrols and a few reprogramed observers. The Pathfinder wasn’t afraid to engage them in close quarter combat, but she wasn’t going to risk of letting the Kett know that they had been infiltrated.

“Ryder, we found the prisoners, but we have a problem!” said a deep voice in Sara’s earpiece.

“What kind of problem?” she asked, keeping her voice very low to avoid being heard by the guards nearby.

“The cell door was rigged with an alarm!” answered Cora through the comms.

Ryder cussed silently as she crawled into a small tunnel inside the right wall.The narrow space made her feel claustrophobic, and she caught herself holding her breath as she crawled on her elbows and knees.

“Can you make it to the Tempest before the guards arrive?” asked the Pathfinder. She finally saw a small door that led out of the tunnel. Relieved, she pressed a button on the wall panel that opened the door.

“Already on our way back. But they know we’re here, be careful Ryder!” Cora said.

Sara poked her head through the opening, looking right and left. When she realized that the area was deserted of any life form, she stepped through the door and out of that awful tunnel.

The chamber she had entered was only slightly smaller than the one she had just exited, with terminals and weird hieroglyphs decorating the walls around her. Dormant Remnant observers were hanging from the ceiling, probably recharging their power cells.

“ _The bridge is at the other side of that door, Pathfinder_ ,” said SAM, breaking the silence.

But, before Ryder could open the heavy reinforced doors, she was yanked ten yards backward by a biotic pull. She felt herself get thrown in the air, the world around her became a blur of lights and shapes. Then she landed hard on her belly, her helmet’s visor cracked when it hit the floor. Dazed, Sara got back up to her feet; her eyes scanned the room for any signs of her foe.

“Look who’s back for more!” Ryder heard a voice, her voice, coming from the left.

Ryder saw the twisted version of herself standing on a balcony on the second floor. She regarded this abomination of nature with disdain as she began to climb the stairs that led to the second level. As much as she hated the clone, she couldn’t help to feel a bit of pity for it.

“This time, it will be different!” Ryder shouted.

Her right hand hovered over her holstered pistol on her right side, fingers twitching on top of the butt of the firearm anxiously. With the cracked visor obstructing her vision, Sara used her left hand to yank the helmet off her head.

“You don’t have to be a slave of the Kett! You can still walk away freely,” Sara told the clone, trying to turn it against its master.

It just laughed at her, its hands grabbing a heavy rifle from a table nearby. _I didn’t know I was that stubborn,_ thought Sara, frustrated. When the copy aimed its gun at her, Ryder threw biotics at her opponent before lunging for cover.

The clone only slightly staggered backward, its heavy armor taking the most of the shock. Seeing an opening, the Pathfinder left cover and threw a roundhouse kick at her foe’s chest. She had used her biotic powers to enhance the strength of her kick, and when the blow connected with her opponent, it sent chunks of armor flying in every direction.

“Is that the best you got?” asked the clone, recovering from the vicious kick.

Sweat ran down Sara’s forehead and into her eyes, every muscle in her body was on fire. She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath, ignoring the burning pain in her ribs and arms.

Knowing that Sara's movements were restricted, the clone intended to exploit those injuries of hers to its advantage.

“This time I will kill you!” said evil Ryder, her red eyes glaring menacingly at Sara.

Ryder felt a leg hit her in the ribs, knocking the air out of her. The armor she was wearing was softer on the sides to let the wearer turn its upper body without any resistance, making it the ideal target in hand to hand battles.

Sara felt fatigue creeping into her body as the confrontation dragged on. She countered another strike that was aimed at her sides, spun and threw a powerful right hook at her foe. The blow made her hand hurt like hell, and Sara saw blood dripping from a gash on her knuckles.

“You talk too much!” said Sara after she dodged a punch.

The fight dragged on for a few more minutes, the two of them exchanging blows after blows, their faces a bloody mess, when Sara finally managed to hit her opponent in the guts with her omni-blade.

Surprised and in pain, the clone staggered backward and fell to the ground with a loud thump, blood dripping from its mouth.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to kill you, but you gave me no choice,” said Sara in a sad voice.

The clone’s eyes began to close slowly as it faded into unconsciousness, blood surrounded its unanimated corpse, and Sara felt hot tears sliding down her cheeks.

“Pathfinder, time is running short, you must go to the bridge before it is too late,” said SAM, interrupting Ryder’s thoughts.

 

* * *

 

Ryder entered the immense anti-chamber, she took a moment to wonder at the size of the bridge. It was the highest and largest room in the whole station, the long aisle had two rows of computer terminals on each side, and at the end of it stood the most prominent seat Sara had ever seen.

 

There sat the monster she had come here to destroy, facing the large canopy while entering commands on the dashboard terminal. Sara's fight with her clone had left her drained of all the energy she had left, and she limped slightly to her left as she made her way toward the chair.

 

When the Pathfinder looked out the main window, she saw that the nose of the station was facing the black hole that was at the center of the Heleus Cluster. On the main screen, she noticed that multiple icons were blinking in yellow, indicating that the various cannons around the left wing of the massive ship were locked on their target and waiting for orders from the primary computer.

“Glad to see you could make it, Pathfinder!” said the Kett without turning his eyes away from the keyboard. His deep voice vibrated in Ryder's ears, and she remembered hearing it in her dreams when she had been imprisoned for months.

Sara drew her M-3 Predator from its leg holster and pointed it at the back of the Kett's head. Her index finger itched to pull the trigger, but Ryder needed an answer before she shot him in the head and turn his brains into goo.

“It's over, you sick monster!” she shouted.

The Kett slowly stood up, and Sara's grip on her pistol never wavered as her bulky enemy began walking toward her. She took a few steps back, keeping a good six feet gap between them. Every fiber in her body shouted at her to take the shot, to stop all this madness in one swift jerk of a finger.

“I can assure you that it is far from over, human!” spat the Kett with daggers in his eyes. His fingers hovered over a small device on his arm, and Sara felt a weird itch behind her head. As the Kett grew closer and closer, the tingling feeling became a violent pain in her skull, her thoughts were unfocused, and a taste of blood appeared in her mouth.

“What the hell!” she screamed, clutching her head with both hands, dropping the gun to the floor. Ryder’s legs failed her, and she stumbled on the hard cold floor, her head felt like it was about to explode.

She felt herself falling as darkness surrounded her, images shifted in front of her eyes as memories came back to her. Sara saw a vision of the Heleus cluster in ruins, planets burning in flames, destroyed by the battle station, she saw Kett marching on her friend's corpses as the Alpha Kett led them to victory.

“No!” she screamed into the darkness, trying to force herself to come back to reality, but the psychic hold on her mind was too firm for the human to break.

The images changed again to a face she recognized well and despised with all her being. The Archon stood in front of her, his ugly face smirking at her as he stabbed her in the neck with a needle, inserting a virus into her bloodstream. Other memories from Ryder’s brief life unfurled before her eyes, and she felt her body weaken. The slow and agonizing ordeal of her death was almost over.

“Stop fighting human, there is no hope for you!” said the Alpha Kett in a deep, terrifying voice, crushing all reserve of energy Sara had left in her.

But, as she was about to give up to the cold embrace of death, a familiar voice boomed in her mind, one she hadn’t heard in a very long time.

“Sara, remember what I always said, always keep fighting!” The voice of Alec Ryder gave her some strength. “Always keep fighting!” Sara repeated as she struggled to remain alive.

Thoughts of Peebee and her friends popped into her brain, fueling her desire to survive, giving her a reason to fight. She will see her fiancée again, she knew. She will not die like this, not here.

Sara forced her hand to respond to her commands, screaming as a wave of searing pain assaulted every nerve in her body, but Ryder refused to give up. She finally managed to grab the fallen pistol that lay in front of her feet, and will all the strength she had left, pulled the trigger.

Everything in the next few seconds happened in slow motion as Sara watched the bullet fly in the air, the rounded projectile spinning rapidly as it closed the gap between the gun and its target. The Alpha Kett only had time to gasp in surprise before the bullet finally penetrated his skull, sending chunks of brains splatter on the white walls and on top of the computer monitors.

The large Kett fell to the floor with a loud thump; blue blood spilled around him from the hole in his head. Sara unsteadily got to her feet, using the edge of a terminal as support.

“SAM, how do we stop the station from firing?” asked the Pathfinder out of breath. She was exhausted, she had been relying on adrenaline for too long, and now it was leaving her.

“We can’t Pathfinder,” answered SAM in her ear.

“What do you mean we can’t?” Sara quickly made her way to the central terminal and saw that a countdown had been initiated. She cursed as she tried to cancel it without any result.

There had to be another way; if she couldn’t stop the station from firing, then she will crash it on the nearest star. And the nearest one, Sara noticed as she peered out the viewport, was Zheng He's only Sun.

“Sara, come in!” Ryder heard Peebee’s voice yell in her ear as she was about to steer the vast ship toward the Sun. She stopped in her tracks; the Tempest couldn’t stay in the hangar bay, they had to leave without her.

“I’m here Peebs,” she answered.

The asari let go of a long sigh she had been holding, relieved that her favorite human was in one piece.

“All the prisoners are onboard the Tempest; we’re just waiting for you.”

“Yeah well, I’m not coming!” Sara forced herself not to let emotions take the better of her; she had to stay strong for Peebee.

“What do you mean?” Peebee sounded worried.

Ryder gave Peebee a vague summary of what had transpired on the bridge. She explained to her that she had to steer the ship into the sun manually. She heard sobbing at the other end of the comms, and it took a full minute for Peebee to regain her composure before answering.

“I can’t lose you again!” was the last thing Ryder heard from Peebee before the comms went dead.

 

* * *

 

On the Tempest’s bridge, Peebee was staring at the viewport, watching as the small vessel distanced itself from the vast space station. Her heart sank at the thought of losing Ryder; fresh tears formed in her hazel eyes and slid down her cheeks.

She tried to bring Sara back on the comms, but only static noise answered her calls, the solar radiations must be scrambling the comms between the two ships. Peebee heard steps behind her as the rest of the crew arrived at the bridge, all of them staring at the massive ship outside that was slowly heading toward the red and yellow Sun.

The space station’s massive hull finally made contact with the Sun; its metallic surface slowly melted away as the ship went deeper into the blazing star.

Peebee heard Kallo gasp as the station exploded before their eyes, illuminating the ship with blinding light. The asari felt a cold touch on her left shoulder and saw that it was Jaal's hand. The purple alien had a sad look in his eyes as he witnessed the death of their friend. Ryder had been more than a leader to all of them, but to the asari, she was her reason to live. Peebee didn’t know how she could survive in this new galaxy now that she was alone.

Heartbroken, Peebee left the bridge as she felt the need to be alone. Sara had promised that she would be careful, that she would come back to her and that they would settle down somewhere.

The asari stepped inside Sara’s quarters and sat on the bed, her hand clasped in front of her eyes. The large chamber felt empty to her, it was usually full of life, but right now, it was as calm and cold as a funeral room.

After a long moment, Peebee heard a constant beeping noise coming out of her datapad. She bolted upright as she recognized the sound, she had heard it before not so long ago. It was the emergency tracker inside Ryder’s bracelet, and it was signaling to her, which meant only one thing. The Pathfinder was alive!

* * *

 

“C’mon work!” Sara shouted at the small, green bracelet on her wrist.

The Pathfinder had managed to run to an escape pod right before the space station went out in flames, but the explosion had knocked the pod off course and had damaged its air reserve as well as the emergency thrusters.

Adrift in total darkness and nearly out of air, Sara’s only chance of survival was to activate the beacon on the bracelet her fiancée had made for her and to hope that Peebee was listening.

“How long do I have until I suffocate to death SAM?” she asked, trying to breathe as little as possible.

“Not long Ryder, minutes,” answered an artificial voice in her ears.

Ryder tried to calm her mind, minimizing her breathing to a minimum to conserve as much air as possible. She wished that she still had her helmet, at least she would have had a more significant reserve of air to breath.

The temperature was unbearably cold, and Sara began shivering uncontrollably, frozen air came out of her mouth and nose. She could barely feel her lips, and she knew her body would probably shut down in hypothermia way before she ran out of air.

The drifting movement of the escape pod combined with the darkness around her, made Sara feel disoriented and dizzy. Her head felt so light she thought she would vomit then and there.

The pod shook crazily when it made contact with something outside, but in her weak state, Ryder barely registered the sudden rocking motion of her vehicle. Nor did she see the familiar form standing in the frame of the open door.

Ryder heard voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying, and she felt herself being lifted in the air by strong hands. Peebee was looking at her, but Sara was too drowsy to see the excitement in the asari's eyes.

 

When Ryder woke up in her bed half an hour later, she was confused and anxious. The last thing she remembered was the cold and lonely feeling she felt when trapped in the escape pod.

She sat upright; her eyes scanned the room around her. She was alone in the Pathfinder’s quarters, soft music that she instantly recognized, was playing in the background, softening the mood. A handwritten note on her nightstand attracted her attention, she took it and read it out loud.

“Tell me when you’re awake, I got a surprise for you!” Sara smiled as she read the note.

She used her omni-tool to let Peebee know she was awake. Then, she waited for the asari to arrive, only she wasn’t the only one to visit Ryder. Liam was there and next to him was Cora, Drack was carrying a steaming plate of Krogan meat that, at the moment, smelled delicious to Ryder. Lexi and Jaal were there as well, and Suvi had brought champaign that Sara didn’t know they had in reserve.

“What’s all this?” asked the Pathfinder.

“Your surprise, silly!” Peebee replied.

 

After eating and laughing and drinking to the success of their mission, Ryder and Peebee were finally left alone, the other members of the crew gone to bed. Some of them were drunk, Liam had passed out on the couch had been carried out of the room by Drack.

With their hands clasped together, Sara and Peebee were lying on the couch, staring at the calming stars outside. Watching those thousands of points of light always brought peace to Sara’s mind. She used to gaze at the stars back on Earth, never suspecting that one day, she would travel to another galaxy.

“Ryder!” said Peebee, breaking the peaceful silence.

“Hmm?” Sara grunted, her eyes half closed as fatigue crept inside her.

“I felt the baby kick for the first time today,” declared the asari with a smile.

Excited, Sara opened her eyes and sat so she could look at Peebee directly. Her free hand on the asari’s belly, Sara gave her lover her most winning smile. Peebee chuckled and kissed Ryder on the lips, glad that Ryder was here with her.

“We’re going to be great parents!” said Sara. She nested her head on Peebee's shoulder and gently nibbled at the smooth flesh at her neck.

The asari groaned in pleasure, craving more attention from Ryder. Peebee knew that they would be great at parenting. After all, Sara had saved the galaxy twice. How hard could it be to raise a child together?

“We’re going to rock at this Ryder!” she answered.

The two of them lay there together like they had so many times before, enjoying each other’s warmth, lost in their love for one another. Ryder knew no better feeling than the ones she felt whenever they were together. After a long while, both human and asari fell asleep on the couch, their minds at peace, knowing that a bright future was awaiting them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my fic, I hope you have enjoyed this journey as much as I did :)


End file.
